The Savage
by Magda the Magpie
Summary: AU. After the war, Severus has resumed his life as best he could, taking back his position as potions professor at Hogwarts and Head of Slytherin. Everything is monotonously normal and dull, until a mysterious person saves his life from what he fears most. Now, Severus has a purpose again: discovering who his saviour is, and give him a sever tongue-lashing.
1. Chapter 1: The Savior

**Disclaimer: It all belongs to Harry Potter and his real mum, JK Rowling.**

**The Savage**

**A HP fanfiction by Magda the Magpie**

**A/N: This story is mostly canon, except for Severus who survived the snake of course, otherwise, there would be no story. It is set after the Final Battle. I hope you'll enjoy it.**

Chapter 1: The Savior

Severus Snape, Potions Master and teacher at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, ex-Death-Eater, spy and member of the Order of the Phoenix, War Hero and recipient of the Order of Merlin First Class and of the Chocolate Frogs Collectible Cards, was trudging through the Forbidden Forest with mud-caked boots and a basket tucked under his arm, muttering to himself with every step.

"Really, if Muggles are smart enough to domesticate wild plants, you'd think wizards could at least_ attempt_ it. But nooooo... Pomona insists on keeping it 'traditional'. Bloody lazy biddy if you ask me. Just what I needed, a lousy walk in this confounded forest full of death traps, at night, with a storm brewing..._ Reducto_!" the dark man yelled, blasting a knot of innocent giant creepers that had the misfortune of being in his path.

However the wizard's current bad mood could not really be blamed on the difficult trek through the dense forest, or on the weather, or even on an uncooperative and unimaginative colleague for that matter. No, truth is, this man had never been in a good mood to begin with, ever. He did not doubt he had started scowling and sneering when he was just a babe at his mother's tit. So, he didn't see the point in starting now, it would probably shock people into the next world.

Moreover, he had no reason whatsoever to be happy. Sure, the war had been over for a few years, and he was not life-bound to serve two conflicting Masters any longer. But now, he had no purpose left in his life. He had really expected to be killed in the war and he felt...let down.

Severus arrived in a small clearing and slowed down, looking carefully where he stepped. He cast _Lumos_ as it was too cloudy for the full-moon to be of any real use in his search of the rare Silver Knotgrass.

"Of course, you can only harvest the damned plant on the full-bloody-moon when all the dark creatures still lurking in this accursed forest are crazed for blood... Knotgrass just couldn't turn silver on the second sunny day of the month... Noooo... It has to be on the full moon. Maybe I should feed Pomona to the darned creatures."

The brooding wizard felt better at the prospect but Minerva, the current headmistress and as close a friend as he was willing to admit, would probably ruin his fun and forbid it.

"Old meddling fussy tabby cat."

A glint of silver caught his eye and the man approached cautiously so as not to get entangled by the vicious plant, and sure enough, a nice batch of Silver Knotgrass was just waiting to be collected. Finally, some good news. Now, if only the weather didn't turn to rain, this outing would not have been half as bad as he had feared.

The wizard kneeled down, put on his dragonhide gloves and in one swift swoop of his gold sickle started collecting the precious grass and he was almost done when the sound of his nightmares reached his ears. A wolf's howl, if he was lucky, but this being the Forbidden Forest, and on a Full Moon to boot, he was practically certain it would belong to a werewolf.

"Typical." he muttered grimly.

In the blink of an eye, he was already running in the direction of the castle. Nothing could make him sprint like the prospect of coming eye to eye with one of those dreaded monsters. Just at that moment, the heavens decided to join in the fun, a bolt of lightning hitting a tree nearby and sending splinters of wood in every direction.

Severus ducked, closing his eyes but he felt a few pricks in his shoulder and right cheek. Groaning, he clenched his jaw and resumed his race towards Hogwarts, towards safety, knowing all the while the scent of his blood would be driving the beast even wilder. He wasn't that far from the castle now however, he could make out the lights through the trees. He heard another howl, closer this time, and all the hair on his arms and neck stood on end.

"Shit!"

Where were those bloody Centaurs when you needed them? He vaguely recalled Minerva explaining something about the Centaurs migrating some place or other in one of the staff weekly meetings... Now he wished he had paid a bit more attention.

Severus could hear heavy footfalls behind. Any second now, he'd be a werewolf snack. Not that he minded dying that much, but a cleaner death would have been more to his taste. Blood, grime, torn limbs and entrails spilled everywhere just wasn't up to his standard, he liked things clean and organised, like his potions lab. At least the students would get a kick out of it, maybe even a few of his colleagues.

The wizard received an unexpected blow in the back which sent him sprawling forward and he felt the near miss of a very hairy and muscular limb, and the snapping of drooling jaws. His eyes were still closed when he heard a scuffle and the cry of a dog in pain. Had the Centaurs arrived? Or Hagrid? He quickly twisted around, still lying on the mossy floor, wand at the ready if they needed help.

Standing protectively before him and facing the beast of his nightmares was his saviour, brandishing what looked like a wooden bludgeon. However, he considerably lacked in height, muscles or equine legs. What the hell? Okay, so it wasn't a centaur or even a half-giant. But who would be crazy enough to be in the Forbidden Forest at this hour. A student? Probably since he seemed too dimwitted to brandish a wand. With his luck, it was an underage student who had gone in the forest on a dare. Idiot.

Severus couldn't let a student get hurt so he sprang to his feet, pushed whoever it was aside and cast a fire-whip from his wand. Not very useful but usually sufficient to frighten the younger werewolves. The beast only backed a few paces away and growled menacingly. The dark man sighed, nothing was ever easy, was it? He then threw a barrage of light hexes and curses, most only intended to restrain or frighten the dark creature. He wasn't a monster himself, he knew very well there was a person beneath all those fangs, claws and fur. At long last, the beast roared it's... what?... displeasure, annoyance, defeat? Whatever. The werewolf was gone. But so was the student.

"Damn!"

He hadn't even heard the stupid brat scamper off. Severus bolted for the castle, hoping on his way to evade further attacks from the werewolf, find the missing student to give him an epic tongue-lashing, and alert Minerva .

* * *

"What do you mean a student? In the Forbidden Forest? At this ungodly hour?" Minerva asked shrilly, her voice getting louder with every question.

Severus only nodded, too busy trying to down the contents of the tumbler the headmistress had mercifully filled with Firewhisky.

"What House? What year?" she barked.

"Don't know, too dark." he answered truthfully._ And too bloody scared,_ he kept to himself.

"Well at least tell me if we're looking for a missing boy or girl!" she shrieked, her tight bun getting more and more undone by the second as she paced the round office.

The shaking wizard's face became utterly blank for a moment before he responded in a bewildered voice.

"I... have no idea...I really don't...I just assumed it was a boy..."

"And assumed it was a Gryffindor, I suppose?"

Severus had the decency to looked abashed. Thoughts of the Marauders _had_ crossed his mind if he had to be honest.

Minerva threw her arms in the air and screeched in exasperation before leaving the office, ready to rouse all her Heads and Prefects for a very thorough head-count. Severus finished his liquor and dragged himself off to the dungeons to check on his Slytherins. It wouldn't do if the foolish rule-breaking idiot that saved his life was one of his Snakes but he really doubted it.

"Probably a thrice-damned Gryffindor as usual." He muttered stubbornly before stepping into the green and silver common room.

* * *

"Well, Severus? Care to explain?" asked the headmistress in a clipped voice from her seat behind an oversized desk. Rousing the whole school for a fruitless hunt of a potentially missing student had left her tired and irritated. Week-ends were supposed to be restful.

"You're certain all your precious Gryffindors are accounted for? It would be so like them to sneak out playing hero and breaking Merlin knows how many rules in the process." the scowling wizard countered with a sneer of evident disdain.

"Of course I am." Minerva bristled "I would never endanger_ any_ student, whatever House they may be from, for a cover-up...I'm not Albus, you know that." she said, throwing an apologetic look at the portrait of a twinkling old wizard. "But, since there are no students missing... Add to that the unlikely presence of a werewolf so near the castle, too."

"Since when have_ any_ of my reports been anything but accurate?" He demanded calmly, although the air around him was palpable with contained rage.

"Forgive me, Severus. You're right, of course." She amended.

The rest of the staff present in the headmistress' office had wisely remained quiet and out of the way, sipping their well-earned tea in their tartan-covered armchairs.

"Maybe..." Baylee Finkle piped up. The battle-scarred witch, always sporting pastel robes, was the newest addition to the Hogwarts staff. She had replaced the late Carrow sibling who had been the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor before the Final Battle and the last applicant to succumb to the cursed job. Miss Finkle, who as an Auror had been dramatically impaired during that battle when she lost both legs to a vicious_ Diffindo,_ had been happy as can be to fill the position offered by Minerva. And despite the lack of legs, she had proved to be an excellent teacher and new Head of House for the Gryffindors for the last four years, proving in the process the position was no longer cursed. Severus didn't care much who was the DADA professor anymore. Actually, he didn't care much for anything, his life was now utterly meaningless, his only ray of sunshine was making others feel as miserable as him. He chuckled at the thought of having turned into a Dementor.

"Maybe it could have been a … you know, one of the Most-Wanted?"

The Most-Wanted was a list of Death-Eaters who had fled the battlefield as soon as Voldemort had been struck down by the Boy-Who-Lived-Again. The Ministry of Magic had issued the list of names and mugshots, along with the rewards for their capture and had thus created a new career, unprecedented amongst wizardkind, the bounty-hunters. The crippled witch didn't want to say 'Death-Eater', since it was widely known Severus had been a Death-Eater-double-agent, thanks to the Potter brat, and nobody wanted to remind the snarky ex-spy of that fact. Except if they had a death-wish.

"I somehow doubt that a former servant of the Dark Lord would want to save the life of _THE_ traitor, don't you, Miss Finkle?" He answered harshly.

The witch merely shrugged her shoulders.

"I just don't see who else could be hiding in the Forbidden Forest, it's hardly a welcoming place." She concluded and a few others nodded their heads in approval.

Severus sneered at their asinine questioning, ignoring the fact he was asking himself those very same questions, and left for his rooms to heal the little cuts and bruises, only remnants of his impromptu werewolf-taming adventure.

* * *

The Potions Master's temper was getting worse, although the students had doubted it could be possible. There was someone in the Forbidden Forest and, if it wasn't a student, he was determined to find out who, or what, it was exactly.

The best way to achieve that was to consult the half-giant gamekeeper, Hagrid. He wasn't particularly smart but he knew the forest and it's inhabitants better than anyone else.

"Prof'sser Snape?" Hagrid was visibly surprised to find him on his doorstep, not that he blamed him, he had never come to his hut before for a social call. "Won' yeh come in now? Still a bi' chilly outside! Heard all 'bout tha' ruddy werewolf of course. Bin lookin' for it too." The giant's tone was a bit too jovial in his opinion but Severus was impressed that the gamekeeper took his job so seriously.

"Any...evidence?" Severus asked.

"Well, there's bin a bloody storm since las' night so it was hard findin' anythin' at all bu' since yeh said a tree bin blasted ter pieces, I did find the place it happen' at. Lucky it was on soft ground an' all, I found footprints."

Snape congratulated the half-giant, he had earned it, after all. Except for the House-Elves, who didn't like being thanked, he didn't know one person whose work he'd consider well done, and least of all the dunderheads he still taught for Merlin knew what reason. Hagrid accompanied the gloomy professor through the Forbidden Forest, pointing here and there at various creatures and plants. He learned that the Centaurs had all moved further away to the north of the Forest, nearer the Mountain border. It rang a bell, so he must been half-listening to Minerva's lecturing on the subject.

"'Ere yeh are. See here the deep tracks, of the werewolf no doub', an those musta be yer footprints. Dragonhide boots, he'? Leaves clear prints of the heels those do." He explained as if he was teaching a class, and Severus thought it might actually be a good idea and made a mental note to submit it to Minerva as an optional course.

"So what of the other person? It all looks a bit vague to me." He demanded, trying not to sound too impatient, because he really craved some answers since that night, but he didn't want to fluster his only chance at getting them.

"That's the bes' part, yeh see, here," He pointed at a vague hollow in the mossy ground. " an' here, d'yeh see the very small footprints? Def'nit'ly looks human, very small, and light. Prob'bly a kid or a small woman." His face screwed up in thought. "'Course, it coul' be a mighty huge wood nymph or dryad bu' that's noy very likely."

"Why would you even think that? I don't think there has ever been wood nymphs in this forest. It's just not that kind of forest." He asked, curious. He was starting to actually enjoy the half-giant's company, who didn't seem affected by his dark persona.

"Jus' seems strange someone human woul' be walkin' out here withou' their shoes on is all." The half-giant pointed out. "As I said before, it's gettin' chilly."

"Indeed." Severus looked around trying to spot more of the small naked footprints but had to give it up as a bad job. Unless... "Hagrid? Do you think you can follow the trail, see where the human came from and where he went?"

The huge man beamed, happy that the sombre wizard seemed to trust his skill and nodded, before scouting the area, looking mostly at the floor, but occasionally up at the trees with a confused expression.

"Well?" Severus asked despite himself. He had tried to be as patient as possible, but it wasn't one of his better qualities. He wondered idly if he even had one except for potion-making. Down-to-earth, composed, perfectionist...but all those could be faults as much as qualities, really.

The half-giant finally shuffled back, scratching his bearded chin.

"Strange. Never seen anythin' like it really. Trail jus' dissapears near trees so I'm guessin' he climbs 'em or somethin'. Good concealmen' stayin' in the trees, have to admit, good protection too from most of what yeh'd find in these woods. 'Cept Accromantulas, 'f course"

Severus was a bit disappointed with the little information he had gathered but he could at least rule out the possibility of it being a Death-Eater, since all their marked women and children had been accounted for, whether dead, imprisoned or in Saint Mungo's permanent wards and orphanages.

Back at the oversized hut, Severus thanked the gamekeeper for his time, and had to promise to come visit him again after his insistence. That was strange, nobody sought out his company usually, except Minerva and Poppy, but he was almost sure it was more out of habit than anything else. Maybe the Gamekeeper felt lonely. Hagrid promised in return to keep his eyes open for any other evidence of the 'bare-foot' as he had taken to naming the human hiding in the Forbidden Forest. He always liked to give silly names to creatures after all, and this one wasn't half bad compared to 'Fluffy' the Cerberus hell-hound or 'Norbert' the dragon.

* * *

The forlorn Potions Professor was walking back to the castle, playing over the events of that night, seeking out any clue that could help him identify his saviour, when he effectively remembered the wooden bludgeon the bare-foot had been wielding. It looked familiar...the size, the shape.

Damnit, he could kick himself! He hadn't recognized it out of context but it could only be a Quidditch beater's bat, it was too similar to be anything else.

He quickened his pace, looking more than ever like a giant bat with his black robes billowing all around him. Rolanda Hooch, the flight instructor for the first years and the Quidditch referee and supervisor would know if any equipment had been reported missing lately. If he hurried he would be able to talk to her in the teacher's office, just before she left for lunch in the Great Hall.

"Rolanda." He greeted her curtly as he entered.

"Severus." She replied in the same tone. But her yellow hawk-eyes widened slightly when she saw he was approaching her to actually engage in conversation. An actual conversation! This was most unusual. Minerva and Pomona who had been tale-telling about students in the other corner, stopped at once and ogled them too. Severus rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"If it's not too much bother, would you mind checking with the Quidditch teams and into the school supplies to find out if any Quidditch material has been reported missing this year." He might as well check an overly long period of time, just in case.

"Hum...sure, Severus. May I ask why?"

Of course, the gossipy witch would want to know. Well, it was hardly a secret anyway. However, he replied:

"Hagrid and I are hunting a mythical creature that may have some kleptomaniac tendencies."

Madam Hooch looked at him as if he had gone mad or spoken Gobbledegook.

"And what monster could possibly interest the both of you?" Inquired Minerva, butting into a private conversation without a shred of shame, but that was so like her, he didn't even take offence.

"A bare-foot. It seems to be a small, tree-climbing, bat-wielding werewolf-basher."

"I'll believe it when I see it." She chuckled "Please indulge him, Rolanda. It's so rare of him to take an interest in anything else besides potions."

Nobody ever believed you when you told the truth.

"Funny you should mention something like that though," The flight instructor told him. "because it's notorious the Quidditch Pitch has been 'visited' more than once since... well, since the school reopened four years ago, really."

After the Final Battle, right here in Hogwarts - be it castle, lawn, greenhouses or even the Black Lake and the Quidditch pitch - where so many had died and the damage been so great, the school had been shut down for a year to put it back in shape in order to welcome the students back.

"I don't listen to idle gossip, as you very well know." He retorted angrily. If he did, he would probably hear so many nasty things about him, it would just give him a headache.

"It just proves how useful the rumour mill really is, doesn't it?" She snapped scathingly, but resumed quickly at the murderous glare he was sending her. "Since the school reopened, students have been complaining about their Quidditch gear going missing. Sometimes it's a their upper outfit, discarded on a bench because it was too hot; a glove they dropped on the pitch while flying; or a bat they left for a few minutes break, and even a snitch. And before you go accusing anyone, all the Houses have been targeted these last four years. But you really should know that, being a Head of House yourself. So, of course, the Quidditch teams started the rumour that they had their own Quidditch ghost now, although he has never been seen. And it's more like a poltergeist actually, if it can steal their stuff. Funny thing is that the team that is last robbed is said to be cursed with bad luck for their next match and the students actually take that into account for their bets. It really tips the odds sometimes."

Severus was speechless, he had really been out of touch with reality if he had never heard of that before.

"Oh! And his name is Clyde."

"What? Why?"

"Beats me." she said with a shrug.

* * *

Severus glided away, not to lunch, he didn't feel like it. He went to his quarters instead and summoned the Slytherin ghost.

"Bloody Baron, it's so nice of you to come."

The translucent being merely bowed his head in acknowledgement to his current Head of House. Contrary to his Gryffindor counterpart, the Bloody Baron disliked communicating with the living, which suited the Slytherins just fine.

"I wonder if you could confirm the presence of a poltergeist, or less likely a ghost, currently haunting the Quidditch pitch?"

"I think," The ghost slurred nastily. "we already have our hands full as it is with Peeves. No new spirits have taken up residence at Hogwarts, which is surprising, considering..."

Yes, considering... Considering the sheer horror of all the lives taken violently and prematurely in this very place, it was a wonder indeed.

"Indeed." The wizard said echoing his thoughts "Thank you, Bloody Baron."

It was starting to feel like detective work and he enjoyed it. Like any good Slytherin, he enjoyed a puzzle complex enough to sharpen his wits and take his mind off things. It was hard to imagine someone had been surviving alone in the Forbidden Forest for these last four years or so. Or maybe his bare-foot wasn't alone, he couldn't jump to conclusions, that would be so...Gryffindor.

Only one way to find out, he'd have to scout the Forest and he didn't feel like leaving that for later. It was the week-end and he fully intended to get some answers before resuming his monotonous work on Monday.

He hated what he was about to do, but it was the only way he could think of to achieve his goal. It had been a long time since he last tried it, but he closed his eyes, concentrating on the transformation process. It took him a few minutes before he flew out the window, into the night.


	2. Chapter 2: The Savage

**Disclaimer: Harry Potter and his universe belong to JK Rowling, the rest belongs to Humanity.**

**The Savage**

**A HP fanfiction by Magda the Magpie**

* * *

Chapter 2: The Bare-Foot

Everybody would laugh heartily at him if they knew his animagus form. Only Albus had known, for the obvious reason that you could not hide anything from the nosy old meddler, and even he had had a hard time stifling his laugh. He had always liked a good joke.

Severus had learned that particular transfiguration skill because any additional ability that could help him survive the Dark Lord was more than welcome. It had not come naturally and since he could not turn to anyone for help, he had only accomplished it a few years before his Master's return.

But why, by Merlin's bloody beard, why did his animagus form have to be a bat of all things? He blamed the students, really. Hearing them call him that for so many years must have made an imprint on his brain and he had unconsciously called it forth. That was another reason for him to make the ungrateful brats as miserable as he could.

Bat-Severus soared above the Forbidden Forest, through the trees and branches sensing for anything out of the ordinary. He had forgotten how good it felt to fly and feel free. If only he wasn't a bat, he would indulge himself in this form of escape more often than not. As it was, the transformation had not been that smooth and he wasn't sure how much longer he would be able to flap his wings. But in the end, his obsession drove him to search for hours and he returned to the castle, exhausted but satisfied to feel useful again.

Severus searched the next day too, returned every monday to his tedious schedule of teaching and scowling, before resuming his search on the week-end. He had followed this pattern for over a month already, and the three gossipy witches, Minerva, Pomona and Rolanda had the gall to tease him about his obsession for a figment of his imagination.

At least, he had Hagrid's support.

* * *

The weather was getting warmer with spring settling in, bringing in its wake torrential storms, as was the case tonight. Severus hesitated leaving the dry comfort of his quarters, but since he couldn't manage to stay focused lately… He sighed, opened the window and transformed. It had become easier with practice.

It was particularly difficult to fly in these conditions though, so the bat-animagus decided to cut short his exploration and flew directly towards the Quidditch pitch before regaining the safety of the castle. It was always the first place he checked, ever since he had learned of the existence of the-so-called-ghost, Clyde. He flew through the Keeper's hoops, it amused him for some obscure reason, and he was about to leave the pitch when he spotted some unexplained movement, even in this gale. It was too big, too deliberate and too fast to be something blown over by the storm, and it was heading under the Hufflepuffs stands. This looked promising.

Severus landed nearby, in the shadows and resumed his human form. He quickly cast a silencing charm on his feet and disillusioned himself, before slipping under the same stand. He had been in the dark so long he didn't need time to adjust and refused to cast_ Lumos_ as it would defeat the purpose of discretion. Instead, he relied on his ears and his overly large nose – it may as well make itself useful. It smelled... strange, he wasn't expecting that. It smelled of wet dog but he couldn't hear anything. However a quick inspection showed the ground level was empty, he'd have to climb, he groaned mentally at the prospect, he was not exactly a young man any more and he felt a little foolish.

As he climbed higher up, the smell grew stronger and he could hear a very faint but frantic clicking sound. He had no idea what to expect but followed the faint sound to its source until he decided he must be very near. Everything was in shadows here unfortunately, so he'd have to risk it all on surprise, lest he lose his prey again. Severus whipped out his wand and cast a_ Lumos_ in the general direction he thought he ought to look.

The sight that met his eyes was...unexpected, unbelievable, breathtaking? A little of all of that, and enough to convince him that his obsessive search had been well worth it. There stood his bare-foot, he was sure of it, as he could see the Beater's bat held tightly in one hand and the naked feet firmly planted in a defensive stance. His mythical creature was a small woman with wiry muscles and wild tangled hair that reached her hips. She must have been wearing a Slytherin Quidditch robe judging by the colour and length but it had known better days as it was badly torn and dirty. He only had a glimpse of her scarred face and two fierce eyes glittering menacingly, before she lunged straight at him like a savage beast, landing the both of them in a tangle of limbs on the old wooden floor that creaked in protest.

Crap. He hadn't expected that from a human, let alone a woman, so he hadn't even had time to stupefy her. Did he even want to? Should he? He realised belatedly that he should have asked Hagrid how to handle a wild beast, but he had been so sure it would be just a human. A regular one, that is. One that didn't bite, snarl and claw you bloody. Well, at least she wasn't part werewolf since he had seen her on the full moon. Could she be part vampire? Somehow, he really doubted it, she didn't look like an un-dead in the least, just wild and savage.

Taking advantage of his hesitation, the woman jumped over his head and was already halfway down the steps already by the sound of it. Severus leapt to his feet and followed after.

He was catching up to her already, probably because he was that much taller than her and they were both speeding across the pitch as if a Hell-Hound was on their heels. Now what? Lacking time to think things through, he let his instincts take over and tackled her, pinning her to the ground. The little savage was very unhappy and made it known, squirming, kicking and clawing madly at him. She didn't scream though, which he found perplexing. It should be a reflex for a woman to cry out for help when assaulted.

"Calm down!" He exclaimed and she flinched. "Calm down." He told her, trying to adopt a soothing voice, which was a first, he had to admit. "I don't want to hurt you. Let me help you. Stop struggling. I just don't don't want you to disappear again."

She seemed to relent but before he could savour this small victory, Severus was flung back in a jet of red light. A trip jinx? So she_ was_ a witch. What a sneak, he hadn't even glimpsed a wand. He rapidly secured his footing and shot a direct E_xpelliarmus,_ impossible to miss at this distance. Nothing, no wand came flying to his hand but the bare-foot cried out in pain and tried fleeing again. Oh, well, nobody could blame him for not trying to not hex her. He aimed and cast a precise_ Stupefy_ between her shoulder blades and she collapsed head first in the muddied pitch. He approached, satisfied and cast a_ Mobilicorpus_ to bring her back to the shelter of the castle. The sooner, the better.

* * *

"Severus?" Came Poppy's anxious voice as she got out of her office to answer his summons. "Are you hurt?"

"Don't be silly, woman, I can take care of myself. But I'd like you to help me with her." He explained pointing at a bed where he had dumped his werewolf-basher.

"What's the meaning of this? Did you finally lose control and hex a student into oblivion?" She asked, rushing to her patient's side.

"I wish." He muttered. "Be careful, she's the bare-foot I've been looking for. I had to stun her, she's a real harpy when she's conscious."

The nurse looked at him in disbelief. Like most of the staff, she had thought her dear Severus was somehow deluding himself. Depression, maybe. It wouldn't be the first time and it was not as worrying as his heavy-drinking episodes so she had let him be. But with the evidence lying in one of the Hospital's bed as well as the claw marks marring the potions master's face, she felt guilty for not having more faith in him.

Madam Pomfrey cast a spell causing restraints to snake around her patient's legs, arms and torso to keep her still. She had been forced to use it several times on Severus, when he was being too stubborn to let her finish her ministrations and he hated it, but he nodded his approval in this instance.

Severus couldn't find her wand on her though, so the little witch must have dropped it when he had disarmed her but he hadn't thought to look around before he left the Quidditch pitch. He'd have to go back and look for it.

"Ready?" The dark wizard asked the nurse, now that the bare-foot was securely bound.

The matron nodded, wand at the ready.

"Renervate!" He said firmly.

The little savage immediately thrashed around for a while, her wet hair clinging to her face covered in mud and hiding her angry features. She looked just like one of Hagrid's pets, wild and dangerous, as she snarled and twisted. She flailed about for over twenty minutes before finally calming down, defeated.

"That's better, dear. You seem to be in excellent health at least, so we'll start by cleaning you up. How does that sound, poppet?"

Severus looked at his friend in disgust.

"Really, Poppy? She's not a kid, in case you hadn't noticed. You're just like Hagrid cooing to his monsters."

The nurse frowned at him and crossed her arms in challenge.

"You asked for my help, Severus, and I'm in charge here, so I'll talk to her however I want. Now, why don't you give us some privacy so I can get her into a gown."

The wizard scowled and closed the privacy screen for her.

"I'll wait right here." he grumbled "Tell me if she gives you any trouble again."

He paced for five minutes before he heard the nurse's strangled squeak and her quivering voice calling for him to come. He looked at the bed questioningly and at the pale Madam Pomfrey who was leaning shakily against the wall.

"You're not finished." He stated, taking in the still bedraggled and muddy bare-foot "Poppy, are you feeling unwell?"

"Look." She told him, pointing her trembling finger at the bed "I'm not sure... Well, I'm almost sure. Look at her! Doesn't she remind you of someone?"

Severus raised an eyebrow, intrigued and approached the bed. His bare-foot was still restrained but she wasn't fighting against them any more. Poppy had just started cleaning her face, judging by the only visible expanse of clean skin. He remembered she had fallen face-first in the muddy pitch and it had been very dark outside, but now he could clearly see her features and her accusing chocolate-brown eyes glaring daggers at him. She had a full bottom lip that was quivering in rage, or maybe in fear. A nose that had probably been broken at some time and had not been set straight and the scar he had already noticed that paraded from her left temple, across her crooked nose and finished in the right corner of her mouth. The effect was striking, adding to her wild savage looks.

She did look familiar. The deep colour of her wide eyes and the thick dark eyelashes, the very light smattering of freckles across her nose... yes, she did look familiar, but her snarling and the fierceness in her eyes that burned like fire were not right. He stared at her intently, trying to imagine her without the abuse marring her face, with a peaceful expression and probably a few years younger if she had been lost to the Forbidden Forest for as long as he feared she had… Maybe an old student?

No… No way in fucking bloody hell! He recoiled from the savage woman and looked at Madam Pomfrey, incredulity painted across his features.

"It can't be!" He blurted out. "Hermione Granger?"

He looked from the savage girl to the nurse who was nodding, trying to make sense of this situation.

"I think so." Confirmed Madam Pomfrey "I'll floo-call Minerva. She's going to be in need of a good tumbler of Firewhisky, if you don't mind fetching it in my office."

The stunned wizard shuffled over to the other room, he could use a good swig too. How was it possible? Hermione Granger! One of the Golden Trio! She had been declared a war hero after the war and had received a posthumous Order of Merlin First Class when no trace of her had been found on the battlefield. There had been so much death and gore everywhere on the grounds and castle, the possibility that she had been blasted to bits unnoticed had always been an option. Horrible, inhuman, but that was war. Still, they must have been very negligent to overlook her whereabouts and end up in this predicament.

He heard a wail in the infirmary. Minerva must have arrived, and recognised her cub too.

Severus pushed a goblet filled to the brim with the burning liquor in the shaking hands of the older witch sitting in a visitor's chair.

* * *

"Oooh Severus..." She moaned. "It's little Hermione. What happened to her? She doesn't even recognize me. Do you know what happened to her? Is that who you've been looking for all this time?"

"Calm down, Minerva, you'll wear your heart out. I wasn't looking for_ her._ Well, I was, but I didn't know it was_ her..._ Hagrid and I were searching for the bare-foot, but it's definitely the same person, and_ that_ is definitely your precious Miss Granger." He answered, his head indicating the bed where the matron was fretting over her charge with renewed vigour. He took the opportunity to recount his capture of the missing woman and told her about her savage behaviour.

"I'm finished for now." Chimed in the nurse. She seemed to have recovered from the shock. "Can't do much about the hair though, it's tangled worse than a devil's snare. I'll probably have to cut it off."

"As if she needs another shock." Severus scoffed. "I'll prepare a Silkening Balm tomorrow."

"Oh... that's... nice of you, Severus." Poppy told him, clearly surprised. As if he hadn't ever been kind before. Alright, so maybe it wasn't so far off. "Have you finished your check up?"

The woman shifted into full nurse mode.

"It seems she suffered contusions, cuts, frostbites and broken bones over several years, badly healed, so she has many scars, mostly on her legs and arms, except the one across her face and a scar on her thorax we all know she received at the Battle at the Ministry in her fifth year." she said, pushing aside any doubt about her identity. "I'll have to reset her nose, her right shoulder and two of her ribs but she's surprisingly in overall good health. However, she is dealing with acute memory loss as you've noticed, whether from mental trauma or from a curse, I don't know as of yet. But it isn't from a physical trauma to the head so there is hope left if..."

"If it isn't the Cruciatus?" Severus asked.

The nurse nodded were the chances it wasn't due to the Cruciatus curse when your were dealing with Death-Eaters? Slim to none, admittedly.

Minerva was sobbing in her chair, he couldn't blame her but he had to ask, since she had known Miss Granger best:

"Minerva, does she have family we can call? It could help her recover her memory."

The headmistress shook her head sadly.

"Her parents disappeared. She has no one else." Seeing him raise his eyebrows in astonishment, she continued. "Harry and the Weasleys are like family to her, maybe we should inform them."

Oh great, the insufferable hero of the wizarding world and the invasive redheads... Just when you think you're rid of them.

"I suppose so, if we have nothing better under hand. But wait a couple of days for Miss Granger to settle down and see if she can be... tamed a little. I don't think they'll appreciate seeing her tied up like a criminal or a loony." Minerva looked at him disapprovingly but he ignored her and resumed. "We should keep her here and hide her from the press though. If they get wind of this..."

The two witches nodded their approval and Minerva left to prepare a few missives inviting the Golden Duo for a reunion. Severus cast a Notice-me-not charm around her bed, as it should suffice to hide her from the students at least.

"Severus, there's something else." Poppy said in hushed tones as she glanced nervously at the headmistress' retreating back, and he understood she didn't want to overwhelm Minerva any more than necessary.

The nurse soothed the growling Miss Granger with a gentle caress to her brow and turned the young woman's right hand over so Severus could see her palm. Instead of a white smooth stretch of skin, a dark pattern could be seen just beneath the skin's surface, as if a brownish bursting star had been tattooed. He leaned closer, his large nose almost touching the surface It wasn't smooth like ink, it almost looked like splinters, dozens of splinters of all sizes dotting her hand. He took out his ebony wand to cast a spell, chanting under his breath and oscillating the wooden length just above her upturned palm which started shimmering a soft blue-white hue.

Merlin in a pickle jar! No wonder his_ Expelliarmus_ had hurt her! Her wand, or part of it had gotten imbedded in her hand.

"I need to do some research." He announced brusquely and left the hospital wing, not quite managing to glide with his robe still damp and muddy from the storm.

* * *

Severus took it upon himself to send a late letter by owl to Mr Ollivander, the wand-maker, asking for his assistance on an important matter. His next stop was the Library, more precisely the Restricted Section, where he snatched several volumes off the shelves and settled down at one of the deserted tables. Using the library at night was absolute bliss, no noisy students, no Madam Pince throwing irritated looks his way, no interruptions of any sort. It was_ usually_ bliss, but he couldn't concentrate. Despite himself, his mind was continually drawn to the Infirmary and to the not-so-mythical creature that was lying there.

With a sigh, he gathered his copies of_ 1001 Rare and Exotic Magical Incidents; Wandlore and it's Darkest Secret_ and_ Unexpected and Gruesome Injuries,_ leaving a note to Madam Pince so the old hag wouldn't ferret him out asking for a receipt, looking to reclaim "her" property, and made his way back to the hospital wing.

"Any improvement?" The wizard asked Poppy as he approached.

She looked up frowning, a damp towel in her hands. She was not happy with her attempt at washing Miss Granger's hair again, it was visibly not a success judging by the knots and occasional twig still peeking through the wild mane.

"She still hasn't spoken but there are no visible damage to her vocal cords that I can see. And she refuses to eat or drink. I can't blame her for not trusting us really, seeing how she was...invited here. For the same reason, I won't be giving her potions or resetting her bones for now, it'll only make her more wary of us."

"You've always been the smart healer, Poppy. Go get some rest, I'll read here, it's as good as any place. I'll call you, if need be." He promised, seeing her reluctance. After a short duel of glares, the nurse gave up, thanked him, and left for a well-deserved nap.

Severus transfigured the hard-backed visitor's hair into a comfortable dark leather armchair and settled in, opening the first voluminous book. He soon tore his eyes away from the page as he could feel someone looking at him. It always gave him an insistent prickling sensation down his back, a very useful trick when he had been a spy.

The bed-ridden woman was staring at him quite openly. Curious, he guessed, but still suspicious. It would probably be a good idea to ask for Hagrid's assistance. Miss Granger was not there anymore, all that was left was a wild creature that would bite your fingers off if it meant regaining her liberty. Such a waste, she had been a brilliant, if annoying, witch to be honest. Severus returned to his reading, determined to find some way to heal her.

* * *

"Go catch some sleep, Severus, I'll take over from here." Ordered the matron, holding a breakfast platter filled with a wide variety of foods. Smart witch. Whatever she had been eating in the Forbidden Forest: fruits, vegetables, eggs or barely cooked meat, was on the platter. That is, if she hadn't taken to feed herself with bugs.

However, he frowned at the woman daring to give him orders, by principle, and glanced at the wild girl to find her staring wide-eyed at him again and then hungrily at the platter of food. Nodding his agreement to retire for a while, he let his feet lead him to his quarters.

He didn't know when he had finally fallen asleep last night, but felt completely awake by now, his mind alert like it hadn't been in a long time. Ah, yes! The sense of purpose, of urgency. He hadn't felt that since the war ended and he was saddened to discover he only functioned correctly under pressure.

His research in the dusty volumes had been a disappointment so far, so he paced in front of his cold fireplace, needing something to occupy his hands and clear his mind...Brewing! Yes, that should help him calm down, it always did in the past. And he had promised Madam Pomfrey a Silkening Balm to untangle her patient's unmanageable hair, he might as well kill two birds with one stone.

It didn't take long before he found himself returning to the hospital wing, the balm in one hand and an old musty book in another.

Poppy was busy sorting out the transfigured faces of two students, one with a parrot's beak and the other covered with silver scales from what he could see. He probably could not recognise them if he cared to try.

"Hagrid!" He greeted the half-giant, genially happy for once. They had developed quite a bond over their hunt for the bare-foot. "I'm glad you could come, you have more experience with… uhm… untamed beasts."

"I'm sorry, Prof'ssor Snape. I've bin tryin' to feed her breakfast, seein' as Poppy hadn't managed but she jus' refuses. Poor 'Mione..." He said before sobbing and blowing loudly in a very large handkerchief. Or was that a tablecloth?

"She probably just needs time. Don't fret over it, Hagrid. She'll eat when she gets hungry. Isn't that what you usually do with your stubborn monsters?"

The gamekeeper approved half-heartedly and excused himself, lamenting all the way out of the infirmary. Well, that hadn't been such a good idea. He had forgotten just how attached the huge man had been to the Golden Trio.

He looked at Miss Granger who gazed right back. Still an insolent little chit, he noted with amusement. He pushed the breakfast platter away, laying it on the bedside table and could have sworn he saw a flash of anguish flash in her eyes. He was certain she was hungry, he had noticed her avid stare when Poppy had first brought it.

The raven-haired wizard resumed his place in the comfy chair and flipped his book open. He could feel the prickling sensation informing him she was staring again, but he couldn't blame her, he knew very well how boring it could get lying in a hospital bed with nothing to do but stare at blank walls and ceilings.

His stomach grumbled loudly and he realised he had skipped his own breakfast, as well as the last dinner, and lunch? He couldn't recall so he reached absent-mindedly for the discarded platter. No use letting it go to waste. Severus grabbed a few grapes, eating them slowly as he perused a new chapter on memory loss, but was interrupted by the sound of a whining puppy. He bloody hated dogs for some obscure reason and they had no business in Hogwarts. He cast a glare around in search of the damned nuisance. It was Miss Granger.

He raised an eyebrow when their eyes met and she whined again, her gaze turning towards the grapes still in his hand and back at him.

"You've got to be kidding me, Miss Granger, if you think I'm going to feed you... Poppy!" He called.

She glanced at them and seeing there was no emergency whatsoever, threw a distracted "Busy!" and tended to the two students crying over their disfigurement.

The wretched girl whined again, Severus merely sighed, exasperated.

"I can't believe I'm doing this! I'm not a bloody nurse, you know." But she was his responsibility in some way, since it had been him who had found her and brought her back. "You better not tell anyone." He muttered, glaring at her. She wasn't impressed. At all.

He closed his book and sat on the edge of the bed where she was still bound and fed her one of the grapes that she seemed suddenly so keen on. He had feared for the safety of his fingers, but apparently she was smart enough not to bite the hand that feeds.

"Just like a little puppy, aren't you?"

She didn't answer. She never did.

Severus tried giving her a bite of a blueberry muffin but she shook her head violently, growling. Did she only eat fruit? Or... He took a bite of the sweet treat, making sure she was watching. She whined once he had swallowed. Oh! So she_ was_ checking for poison.

"That is so Slytherin of you Miss Granger. Did you get food poisoning in the Forest? Not surprising really, it's not exactly a friendly place to live. Half of the mushrooms in there aren't edible, and let's not even mention the berries… Why am I even trying to converse with you?"

He submitted her the muffin once more and she bit a large chunk out of it in a very unladylike manner, crumbs falling all over the sheets. He should probably feel vexed that she used him as a food-taster for poisons, but he was proud of the survival skills she had developed. It was a quality greatly valued by Slytherins, survival, and one they were quite proficient at. He was living proof of that.

They spent the next half-hour sharing the food, until she purred...purred!... with satisfaction. At least, he had new elements to investigate. The more, the better when you didn't know what you were looking for, and this looked more and more like a twisted memory spell than a mental trauma since her brain seemed to be otherwise fully functional.

That afternoon, the snarky wizard couldn't concentrate with her constant staring, he'd have to think of something to give her to keep her occupied. He glimpsed the Silkening Balm and the hairbrush waiting for Poppy on her bedside table. She was now busy with a first-year who had been fed too many Weasley Skiving Snackboxes at once by his 'friends'. That might take some time to sort out, so he snatched the hairbrush and started applying the balm, muttering under his breath.

"I swear if you ever mention this, I'll tie you to a tree in the middle of the Forbidden Forest and obliviate myself."

The silent woman didn't protest when he started treating her hair. Silkening Balm was a concentrated -and smellier- version of the famous Sleek-Easy that the female student body abused but it still took a lot of time and work to get rid of all the snags and knots, twigs and dirt, especially as her hair was so long, but he couldn't imagine she would take it well if they just chopped it off.

"Having fun, Severus?" Asked Poppy with a smirk when she sneaked up on him an hour later.

"Not a word woman. Here, I just finished." He said, handing over the hairbrush. "I'll let you clean the stuff away if you don't mind. I feel emasculated enough as it is for today."

The sulking wizard explained to Poppy the best way to get her to eat something when he left that day. He had his teacher's responsibilities to resume the next day, after all, he couldn't play bloody nurse all the time.

If he thought the next day would be back to normal, he had been sorely mistaken.


	3. Chapter 3: The Bat

**Disclaimer: All Potter-verse belongs to JK Rowling.**

**The Savage**

**A HP fanfiction by Magda the Magpie**

3: The Bat

During his lunch break that monday, Severus came to check in on their guest, the one and only Hermione Granger, come back from the dead. He told himself it was because he had nothing better to do, but knew it for the lie it was, as a stack of his students' assignments were awaiting his grading on his desk. So instead, he explained away his presence here as his "responsibility" and mere "curiosity". He was the one who had found and brought back the woman after all.

Madam Pomfrey was sitting in front of her patient, one identical platter filled with steaming and appetizing food set for each of them. He watched as the nurse ate a bite of roast potato from her plate, soon imitated by the wild girl who looked almost civilized, with a fork in hand and eating from her own plate.

That's when he realized what had changed. Miss Granger was partially unbound, her arms and upper body free of movement, _and_ she had a potential weapon, in the form of a fork, in hand, with Madam Pomfrey's neck at fork-point. However the savage girl was not even trying to harm the older witch, or run back to her forest. He spied upon the two ladies for a while longer, Poppy encouraging the younger witch and clapping when she achieved something new and Miss Granger giggling happily in return. They sure seemed to have built a strong bond in so little time. Severus squashed the fleeting pang of jealousy that had no right to be there and strode forward.

Miss Granger beamed at him, a sure indicator she had not recovered her memory. The girl he had known would never have smiled at her hated potions teacher that way. Oh, she had always been a polite student, the only Gryffindor with enough courage to greet him everyday despite his forbidding demeanour, he couldn't deny her that. But she had never shown him any warmth, like she was doing now. It was… disturbing. So he scowled down his beaked nose at the impertinent chit.

"Hello, Poppy." He said, completely ignoring the smiling young woman. "How is our guest doing today?"

"Never better." The nurse answered. "Hermione is very responsive. I think she completely got over her fear of us already. All thanks to you."

"I did nothing, woman." He scoffed. "I will not abide your inane flattery."

"No, really, Severus. You brought her to safety, made her accept our food and saved her hair." Madam Pomfrey said before whispering theatrically, as if imparting a great secret. "The dear girl has been cooing over her locks ever since you untangled it. She'd thank you if she knew how."

Severus harrumphed. He hadn't figured his bare-foot was such a vain creature. But her hair did look good, nothing like that tangled frizzy bird's nest she used to flaunt. Instead deep caramel curls tumbled elegantly down to her waist. Who would have guessed the ugly duckling of a girl would turn into a striking swan of a woman. The witch in question was now whining pitifully as she tried to call for their attention. Poppy prodded him forward, jabbing her fork in the small of his back.

"Hello. Miss Granger." He said stiffly.

The young woman cocked her head to one side, observing him unabashedly, like he was some kind of fascinating bug. Severus shifted uncomfortably under her stare, something he had never done before, even when Voldemort's malevolent red eyes had been upon him. He cleared his throat and addressed the nurse again.

"When do you think she will be ready to see visitors?"

He really wanted to have Ollivander examine her wand hand and the star-burst pattern embedded there as soon as possible, but knew Potter and his clique took precedence to visit her. Potters always took precedence, he thought bitterly.

"In a couple more days. I want to work on healing her today and let her rest tomorrow."

Severus winced at the thought of having to reset some of her bones and getting the amnesiac witch to drink foul smelling potions.

"Good luck with that." He sneered malevolently, just barely resisting adding an evil cackle, fleeing the hospital wing before the nurse could request his assistance.

Severus returned to his classes, docking many points everytime he had the misfortune of thinking of the woman being healed at the other end of the castle. He shouldn't care. He had done his part by rescuing her - even if the rescue resembled more a capture. He should just forget about the whole sorry affair now. At least that's what he told himself all day, but the next morning found him stalking down to the infirmary before breakfast with another excuse for doing so on the tip of his tongue: he was just making sure that Poppy did not need specific potions for Miss Granger's healing process. It was, in the end, only a school infirmary and not a fully functional hospital ward.

However, he found Miss Granger's bed woefully empty and something akin to fear had his stomach in knots. Had the healing gone awry?

"Poppy?" He called, trying to keep his voice steady. "POPPY!" He bellowed when no answer came.

A door leading to the infirmary's bathroom flung open, the nurse giving him the evil eye from the doorway when she saw there was no emergency whatsoever requiring her presence. She even had the nerve to close the door again and make him wait for five full minutes before she came out again. By that time, Severus was pacing and muttering curses under his breath.

"Really, Severus. How many times do I have to remind you to be quiet in the hospital wing." The nurse admonished him.

"Then you shouldn't leave your ward unattended, should you?" He countered.

"Don't pout, dear, it doesn't become you." Poppy answered, patting his cheek. The nerve of the woman. She'd never dare if she hadn't known him as a skinny frightened first year. His retort died on his lips when he saw Miss Granger though.

She was clad in a Hogwarts uniform, of all things, and walking as if she'd never worn shoes before, raising one foot high in the air before letting it clumsily fall back with a loud thud.

"Why in heavens name is she dressed as a _Hufflepuff?" _He snapped. Miss Granger had been a Gryffindor, should have been a Ravenclaw and had quite a Slytherin streak to her… but... a Hufflepuff?

"Minerva thought that she should visit the castle. Try to trigger her memory with familiar places. No one looks twice at a Hufflepuff, I should know. We're still trying to keep her presence here unknown."

The young witch beamed at him again when she finally reached them, before grabbing the ends of her standard black Hogwarts robes and flapping them about her as if she was some kind of giant bat. Wait… Was she mocking him? His billowing robes? Or had she seen him in his animagus form stalking her steps in the Forbidden Forest. From the two women's giggles, he'd bet on the former. She then admired her silky yellow and black tie, pulling it between her fingers before trying to untighten it. Not that he blamed her. She had then been twirling her skirt around like a six year old when she suddenly grasped the hem and pulled it up over her face, suddenly looking much more the woman she was in her dainty frilly panties. Severus turned beet red, he knew he did, but for the life of him, he couldn't _not_ blush at such a display.

He groaned, closing his eyes as he pinched the bridge of his nose, and turned away, intent on forgetting this morning. Visibly, Miss Granger was fine, so he could just push her out of her mind now and get on with his life. His boring day to day life with his dunderheaded students who exploded cauldrons on a daily basis. He was already halfway through the great hall when the comedy of the situation finally hit him. Miss Granger, the goody two-shoes Gryffindor bookworm, flashing her panties at him, her most hated and feared teacher. Never in a thousand years would he have thought that could happen. Luckily, only a few students were down to breakfast this early to witness him laughing so there was little chance anyone would believe them.

* * *

During the day, he glimpsed Minerva arm in arm with her precious cub, showing her around the castle, pointing her wrinkled finger here and there, and probably telling her all the unbelievably foolish adventures she got herself into because of Potter and his ginger sidekick. No, he'd never understood why she hung out with those two. They seemed to have very little in common and she always bickered with the Weasley boy. Even he had noticed that, despite it being his policy to ignore Gryffindors whenever possible.

Miss Granger was smiling all the while, clapping and cheering at the creaking armors, the moving portraits and the floating ghosts, but he doubted it would do any good in recovering her memory, or she would have remembered upon seeing familiar faces. Maybe Potter would be good for that, at least. He had been _important_ to her, so important she fought to the death for him - or so they thought. Maybe she had even loved him. Soon, she would see him. Surely _that_ would trigger her memory?

Severus left the library with his large nose ensconced in an ancient potions book he had salvaged from a dusty corner of the Restricted Section. It was a bit dark, admittedly, but there was this one potion that could heal brain injuries as a last resort, but the ingredients… The dour professor looked up sharply as he heard giggles nearby. He loathed giggling teenagers and made that fact known to the culprits, who scattered off like so many snitches.

"Gryffindors…" He muttered. Only Gryffindors dared laugh at him openly. He itched to hex the little buggers but knew he'd have to be content with finding an excuse to make those three miserable in their next potion lesson and committed their faces to memory for future point loss.

He continued on his way to his private potions lab and heard guffawing and snickers from a rather large group of Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws moving in the opposite direction towards the library. He looked around to find the source of their amusement but a few pointing fingers and staring eyes confirmed that it was him once again.

"Be gone before I assign you all cauldron-scrubbing detentions!" He told them.

He approved with a smirk as the annoying brats paled and hurried off to the relative safety of Madam Pince's domain. On the bright side, the students were still afraid of him.

However, laughter continued to plague him on his way down to the dungeons and on the fifth occurrence, when he noticed even a couple of _his_ Slytherins sniggering, the tall dark wizard docked into an empty room unnoticed, secured the door and conjured a mirror. No, his hair hadn't been charmed pink - one of the student's favourite, sorely lacking in originality. His nose was it's usual hooked oversized appendix and his skin a familiar pasty colour. His clothes seemed hex-free too: black, billowing, and full of buttons, just as he liked them. So what had the dunderheads in a titter?

He pondered this enigma for a few minutes, but for once, was at a loss of what to think. Worst case scenario, whatever spell had been used on him would wear off during the night, so he slipped out of the abandoned room and continued down the corridor at a brisk pace until he heard a very faint scuffle nearby. He doubted he would have heard it if he had not had all his senses on alert in that moment. The tall man stopped abruptly, without warning, and was rewarded with a small body colliding into his back. Whirling around, he found Miss Granger. Of course it would be her, he thought sarcastically. The woman had been disrupting his minutely organized life ever since he had first seen her in the Forbidden Forest. Not that he was complaining. The growing boredom would probably have led him to hex a student, just for the fun of it and damn the consequences. He had even made up a list in his mind of who deserved to be hexed more. A Gryffindor was in the lead, not that it would surprise anyone. And this particular Gryffindor witch might just take top place.

Miss Granger jumped back to her feet in one graceful motion. He had to admit she was at least in excellent physical condition and her bare feet explained why she had been so stealthy.

"How long have you been following me, I wonder..."

He didn't, not really. He _knew_ she had been following him all the way from the library and that a slip of a Hufflepuff shadowing the fierce potions master is what had amused the children. Unless...No, she hadn't...

As if to answer his silent question. Hermione gathered the trim of her black robes and flapped them up and down in her imitation of a giant flying bat.

Severus pinched the bridge of his nose again, closed his eyes and counted to ten.

Alright, so she _had_ done the Unthinkable. Making a mockery of him in front of the entire school without him noticing, meant students would get bolder where he was concerned. The next days will probably be a living hell, as he should expect all kinds of pranks coming his way, and the worse part was that the witch hadn't even done it on purpose so he couldn't vent his fury on her.

He opened his eyes. Miss Granger was smiling candidly at him as if she expected a pat on the head. He shut his eyes tight and counted to ten again, in latin and backwards. When he opened his eyes this time, she wasn't smiling, but her look of concern wasn't much better.

"Come on, I'll take you back to the infirmary." Severus told her. "Everyone must be frantic with worry that you disappeared."

As he started to walk all the way back, Hermione fell in step behind him again, flapping her robes. That wouldn't do, at all. So he took her elbow and gently guided her through the corridors, glaring at students who dared look his way. Him being kind to a student, or heavens forbid, gentlemanly, was just as rare as a student making a fool of him. If anyone thought he had become soft, they'd be sorely disappointed the next time he had them in detention.

* * *

The next morning, Severus was awakened by frantic banging at his door. Poppy almost fell head first when he yanked the door open. She looked very agitated as she wrung her hands frenetically.

"I-it's Miss Granger. I can't find her." She moaned.

"You're slipping, woman." Severus answered, his voice still raspy from sleep. "Maybe it's time you retired."

He got the intended response when the nurse stopped shifting nervously, huffed and glowered at him, looking more like herself. Severus had no patience this early in the morning to deal with weepy women.

"Don't be such a bastard, Severus. I'm worried. The poor girl is so defenseless."

The tall wizard snorted derisively.

"You do know she knocked down a fully grown werewolf with a simple beater's bat, don't you? I'm sure she just wandered off for a walk, just like she did yesterday. We'll search the castle and find her in no time, you'll see. I imagine you already alerted the rest of the staff?"

Poppy nodded and excused herself, not wanting to waste another second to find her precious patient. Severus wouldn't admit it, but he feared she had fled back to the forbidden forest. It had taken him so long to find her the first time, what if something did happen to her and they didn't get to her in time? Throwing on his usual black robes, the Slytherin quickly crossed his rooms to exit by his office which would take him closer to a staff exit to the grounds. But he tripped midway, in front of his library. Cursing, he turned to kick the pile of books he must have stumbled on, only to find a foot. A bare foot sticking out of a pile of books and parchments.

"Miss Granger." He growled loudly, because he had no doubt it was her. Disturbingly enough, he recognized her foot. And honestly, who else could it be, barefoot in this freezing castle?

The pile of papers shifted and her head poked out. She smiled at him and yawned, stretching her arms in the air while her back arched in a beautiful curve, making her breast peak upwards- Severus squashed that line of thought as soon as he realized where it was headed.

"What are your doing here?" He snapped. "How did you even get in?"

He knew he was angry. He knew he was almost shouting and taking it all out on the poor witch, but only realized his mistake when she cowered back.

"I'm sorry." He muttered, his anger having deflated as fast as it had risen. "I'm not used to having people in my quarters. You're probably the first one in as long as I can remember."

His inane chatter seemed to calm her down a little, now that she saw he wasn't going to lash out at her.

"Everyone is looking for you, again. You shouldn't worry Poppy so, she's not that young anymore, you know." He continued, beckoning her towards the chimney where he lit the fire with a flick of his wand.

Hermione looked awed by the display of magic and scuttled closer to the dancing flames, keeping a safe distance between the two of them all the while. Severus sighed, it was his own fault for frightening her. Reaching in the floo-pot on the chimney's mantle, he threw a pinch in, waiting until the flames turned green to call the headmaster's office and shoved his head in the magical fire.

"Severus? Any news?" Pomona asked.

"Yes, Granger is here. Where is Minerva?" He asked, trying to keep his head in the fire while he could feel the witch behind him frantically trying to pull him out.

The Hufflepuff Head of house looked embarrassed as she cast a furtive look behind her.

"Never mind. Send me Minerva when she's calmed down, will you?"

Without waiting for an answer, he backed out of the sooty chimney and smirked at the woman still trying to pull him away from the flames by his legs. She blinked at his unburned face, and dropped his legs unceremoniously, pouting.

"Magic." He said in answer, not able to keep the corners of his lips from curling upwards.

Just then green flames flared anew behind him and he had just enough time to leap out of the way for a procession of sooty witches to invade his private rooms. Minerva, Pomona as well as Poppy and Rolanda. Severus scowled.

"I clearly remember inviting only Minerva to see to Miss Granger."

"And miss a chance to finally see your abode?" Hooch smirked, peering through the bedroom door he had left ajar in his haste. "Not a chance. No coffins? No stuffed basilisks? Shame. I owe you a galleon Pomona."

The Hufflepuff witch had the grace to look abashed, although it didn't stop her from looking curiously at his private quarters as well. At least, the headmistress and nurse were taking the situation seriously as they smothered the poor amnesiac witch with their good intentions.

"You might want to lecture your cub on not wandering off too, so we can avoid such a situation. Again." He sneered, trying to push the five women towards the exit.

"Yes." Minerva said with a pinched expression, rounding on him. "Just _how_ did Hermione end up spending the night here? In _your_ private quarters?"

The innuendo was not lost on him. He would be hard pressed to have missed her narrowed eyes and suspicious tone.

"I hope you're not implying I have anything to do with it?" He replied dryly..

"I know very well your quarters are warded, and quite heavily so, against all intruders, me included, so I have a little difficulty in believing Hermione just waltzed in here on a whim. And even if she did, why here, of all places? Why _you_?"

"Damned if I know, woman!" Severus snarled, not liking what she was alluding to. "Now get out of here and take your precious witch with you! All of you! OUT!"

He slammed the door shut but could hear the women arguing on the other side. His colleagues did not all agree with the headmistress's accusations apparently.

"Coal!" He barked as he stomped back to the chimney and threw himself into his favourite armchair, kicking off his boots.

"Y-yes Potions Master, sir?" A dark skinned house-elf squeaked.

Severus liked calling on this particular Hogwarts-elf because it didn't have too much of a ridiculous name compared to most -he'd be damned before he ever called on 'Precious', Pomona's favourite elf- and it was not as nervous as most of them around him. But even Coal, seeing the dark mood the potions professor was in, hesitated.

"Coffee. Be quick about it." He ordered.

Not a minute later a coffee pot, cream and sugar appeared with a side plate of toasts. Coal had strategically chosen not to reappear. He was smart, for an elf. Severus breathed in the scent of the strong coffee, trying to calm the anger storming inside of him. Some mornings were not worth the effort of getting up and he was of half a mind of cancelling his classes today. Only the thought of the students cheering at the news put a stop to that idea.

Why did Minerva have to be so stubborn. She should know by now he could never hurt a defenceless person, much less a woman, and certainly not in the way she suspected him of. Was she just incapable of seeing beyond the Slytherin? Beyond the ex-Death-Eater? She had always been overprotective of her cubs, especially because of their house-rivalry, but this was ridiculous.

Severus sighed and took a toast to nibble on it, but he had no appetite and let it fall back in the plate.

But she had been right about a few things. How _had_ Hermione gotten into his private quarters? And why? It was certainly not a place she had ever been familiar with in her past, although she had at least chosen his small library as a sleeping space, which could be a good sign towards her recovery. She had loved books more than anything.

"Women." He concluded. There was just no understanding them, young or old, friend or foe, amnesiac or senile… Gryffindors were still the worse of the lot, though, there was no denying that.

* * *

Severus used his classes that day as stress relief and was in a better mood by lunch time after assigning two detentions, taking off a total of one hundred and twenty five points and making a Ravenclaw cry. He sat at the very end of the table in an effort to avoid a public confrontation with the headmistress, but could still hear his colleagues whispering excitedly about Harry Potter coming to school for a visit. They all knew why, of course, but that didn't stop them from planning to see him too. The Boy-Who-Lived would get mobbed if the students ever got wind of his presence. Severus almost pitied him.

The potions Master, contrary to the rest of the staff, was careful to stay clear of the infirmary for the rest of the day, preferring to remain in his office until late afternoon instead, not knowing when the Golden Trio reunion was due exactly.

Near six o'clock, there was a sharp knock at his door.

"Enter." He called sourly as he finished grading an essay, not looking forward to a moronic student presenting him with an even more idiotic question concerning his assignment.

"Hello, Professor Snape." A deep male voice greeted him instead of the quivering teenager's squeak he had been expecting to hear.

Severus dropped his quill and looked up, meeting sparkling emerald eyes.

"Potter." He replied neutrally.

The 'Boy-who-lived' was in fact, not a boy at all anymore. He was still short for a grown-man, but muscular, and had gotten rid of his glasses somehow. He didn't look as much as his father now except for the mop of messy dark hair, he had to admit, but it was still painful to look right into Lily's eyes, the guilt still gnawing at him after all these years. Potter seemed unaware of his scrutiny as he perused the office leisurely.

"It hasn't changed much here." The Gryffindor said, turning a pickled jar of salamander's eyes in his hands before placing it back in the shelf.

"Is there a purpose to your visit aside from idle chit-chat, Potter. I wouldn't want to keep you from your horde of fans."

"I'm not in a hurry, actually. Everyone thinks I've left, but I wanted to see you before I did."

"Whatever for?" Severus replied disdainfully.

"I heard you were the one who found Hermione." Potter answered, his voice choking on his friend's name. "I wanted to thank you."

"Coincidence." He answered, hoping that would satisfy the man so he would just leave.

Potter hummed noncommittally and sat on a corner of his desk. The nerve of him. Severus sat back in his own chair and glared at him.

"Yes, that's what I heard. Still, it's thanks to you we got her back… Poppy said you've helped with her recovery since then, too."

"Hardly." He answered, but was glad to know Poppy had not sided with Minerva and her ludicrous assumptions.

"Madam Pomfrey said you'd say that." Potter smiled. "Well, as nice as this is, I'd better get back to the Weasley's before Ron starts ranting about Hermione. You know how he is. But I'll be back to visit as soon as I can, so please continue to take care of her for me."

With that, he pushed himself off the desk and was almost at the door when Severus burst out with the question that he was burning to ask.

"Wait, Potter. You're not taking Miss Granger back with you?"

Severus scowled when he saw a satisfied smile spread across the Gryffindor's face. This is exactly where Potter had wanted to take the conversation, he realized, and he had done so in a very Slytherin fashion, getting Severus to ask the question himself, knowing perfectly well that if the man he hated so much had brought up the conversation, Severus would have just scoffed his disinterest and sent him on his way.

"No." Was Potter's only answer.

Severus debated whether to hex him and ask someone else how the meeting between the amnesic witch and her two best-friends had gone, or to swallow his pride for once and just ask the annoying Gryffindor outright.

"Care to elaborate?" He growled. That was as outright as he was willing to go. Seeing Potter's cocky smile, he added. "I'll hex you if you answer in the monosyllabic again, savior of the wizarding world or not."

Potter chuckled, clearly not believing him, but answered anyway.

"Since it interests you _so much_, Professor. The meeting did not go so well. Not only did Hermione not recognize us, but she attacked Ron too."

Severus' mouth hung open. He certainly had not been expecting this.

**A/N: Please review and tell me your thoughts! I know a lot of you want to know just what happened to Hermione and I promise it's coming in the next chapter or the one after that ;)**


	4. Chapter 4: The Suspect

**Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling's, yadda yadda yadda…**

**The Savage**

**A HP fanfiction by Magda the Magpie**

**A/N: Okay so I was asked why Severus was alive. The answer is simple, because this story is AU. Canon until about the final battle though, but Severus survived and Hermione was presumed dead.**

**And I absolutely **_**must**_** thank you all for the great reviews. I'm very lucky to have kind, receptive and patient readers, so thank you for that!**

4: The Suspect

"Sir? Are you alright?" Potter asked, waving a hand before his face.

Severus quickly arranged his features into a blank mask, thanking his occlumency for coming to his rescue. As an afterthought, he added a scowl to look more natural.

"Of course I am, you daft boy." He snapped, slapping the other's hand away.

"Good. You seemed a little gobsmacked just then. Or maybe I was mistaken? My bad." The Gryffindor added after hearing the dour professor growl.

"Tell me what happened." Severus ordered.

"It would be quicker if you just looked. I had actually expected to see you in the infirmary when we visited, which would have saved us all this hassle."

"If I had wanted to be at your … moving little reunion, I would have been there, and why ever would you think I'd want to be ferreting around in your head, Potter?"

The green-eyed man scoffed.

"You didn't seem to mind when I was a student, I just thought I'd save us time."

Severus sneered and stalked over to a cabinet near the entrance to retrieve the pensieve he'd inherited from Dumbledore, levitating the heavy artefact to his desk.

"Hum, right." Potter said. "I'd forgotten you had that."

Not needing to be asked, the Gryffindor put the tip of his wand to his temple and retrieved a silvery thread that he dropped into the stone basin.

"No need to accompany me." The Slytherin sneered when he saw Potter approach, and bent over the pensieve.

His eyes were immediately drawn to Hermione, sitting on the infirmary bed, still dressed in her Hufflepuff school clothes, when Potter and Weasley entered. She looked apprehensive, even with Madam Pomfrey and Minerva right next to her, patting her hands and whispering comforting words.

Potter was positively glowing with happiness and he almost ran the rest of the way to the wide-eyed girl. Idiot. Severus approached and noticed the amnesic witch had adopted a defensive stance. Potter did too, apparently, because he suddenly stopped and raised his hands in an appeasing gesture.

"Hermione? It's me. It's just Harry." He said, his voice breaking.

Severus rolled his eyes. Hermione looked him over from head to feet, seemingly unimpressed and glanced at Poppy, who smiled encouragingly at her. However she only looked bored now, and started twisting her curls around her index finger, giggling every time the locks bounced away.

Potter looked stricken and just stood there not knowing what to say or do. Severus agreed that there was little he could do anyway. If Hermione Granger had not recognized her best friend at first glance there was little chance she ever would.

Severus turned around, searching for the other idiot who had come in with Potter but was still hovering near the door. That was strange. He would have thought the thoughtless baboon would have run in and smothered the poor girl in a crushing hug - the way most Weasleys seemed to behave.

The Slytherin narrowed his eyes at the figure lurking in the shadows. Why was he behaving like this?

"Come on, Ron!" Potter bellowed, earning him a slap on the head from the medi-witch.

The redhead took a deep breath and approached slowly, looking at his feet rather than his long lost friend. Severus recognized that walk from years of experience as a teacher: the walk of guilt. It was the same hesitant shuffle and downcast eyes the students sported when they approached him to say their familiar had eaten their homework or that they had no idea why their cauldron had exploded all over the classroom.

Ronald Weasley was hiding something. Something vital that concerned Miss Granger. The idiot! What if it was important to her recovery? Another, darker idea, sprang to his mind: what if he had something to do with her disappearance? It seemed ludicrous. Weasleys were known for being a light family for generations back, so above suspicion that even the suspicious Slytherin that he was had trouble wrapping his mind around it. But war changed people, and if there was the slightest chance the Weasley boy had harmed Hermione, he _would_ find out.

The last member of the Golden trio was finally close enough, but Hermione was now busy trying to pull Minerva's hair out of her tight bun.

"Hi 'Mione." The redhead mumbled, unheard.

Harry elbowed his friend in the side.

"Hermione?" Ron called, louder this time.

The witch turned and glanced lazily at the new visitor, but in an instant, her whole demeanour changed. She snarled and jumped on the bed in a stance Severus recognized as the one she had adopted when he had first found her in the Quidditch stand, just before she jumped at him, knocking him over - which is exactly what she did with the ginger wizard.

"Hermione!" Minerva cried out while Poppy gasped in surprise.

Potter and Weasley were too stunned to do anything but gape at their former friend. Taking advantage of the lack of response, Hermione kicked the downed Gryffindor in the face, breaking his nose if the noise was any indication.

"Hermione! No!" Poppy ordered, approaching the wild girl slowly and gesturing for her to come closer. The witch growled once more at Ron, making sure he stayed down and retreated towards the nurse, cuddling into the woman's open arms.

The memory became fuzzy, signaling the end, and Severus pulled out of the pensieve. He sat back in his desk chair and stared off into space as he thought the memory over again, trying to look at it with a less unbiased view, but still coming to the same conclusions.

"That bad, eh?" Potter finally interrupted his brooding. To be honest, Severus had forgotten he was even there, so focused was he on uncovering this mystery. He wondered how to best approach the subject without making the righteous Gryffindor jump to his best friend's defense.

"It was… surprising." He stated matter of factly. "I expected Miss Granger to recognize _you_ at the very least."

"Actually, Hermione was closer to Ron. They always had a thing for each other. They probably would have dated after the war, maybe even gotten engaged later on…"

"Really?" Severus drawled, truly surprised. "Is that why Mr Weasley seemed so - how should I put it? - hesitant?"

"You noticed, then? I thought maybe I had imagined it. I hoped I had, actually."

"And why do you think he was in such a state? I imagine you've thought about it."

"It was only an hour ago." Potter defended himself.

"Still. _Something_ must have crossed your mind."

"Well…"

Severus could see he was hesitant to spill the beans about his best friend.

"Potter! You came here, seeking me out, for this very purpose. So say whatever you have to say and be done with it."

Severus was satisfied to see the young man blush to the roots of his hair in anger and smirked at his nemesis. He was surprised however to see the Gryffindor shake the anger off just as quickly.

"Yeah, I suppose I did." Potter said dropping into the visitor's chair. "You wouldn't happen to have something to drink?"

The Slytherin opened his bottom-most desk-drawer and pulled out a bottle of brandy and two chipped tumblers. After all, alcohol had the power to free the tongue, and if he had to make the man drink to learn his secrets, he would do just that, for Hermione's sake.

"Ron was the last to see Hermione." Potter said with a somber expression. "But that's all he would ever say about it. One minute he was with Hermione, running across the battlefield to join me, the next she was gone. Just gone. No other explanations."

Green eyes looked at him beseechingly, but Severus had no clue of what he was expected to say, so he refilled the man's battered cup.

"I badgered Ron on and on for weeks after the battle, even when they stopped searching for her. I wanted, _needed,_ to know. To understand what had happened to Hermione, but he got angry and wouldn't talk to me any more." He paused and slumped a little more on the chair. "I stopped when Mrs Weasley stepped in, but I don't think insisting would have changed anything anyway."

"But you're still friends, you and Weasley?" Severus asked, remembering them coming together to the infirmary. "So you still trust him?"

"Well, yeah. I mean, you were there, at the battle. You saw how crazy it was on the battlefield. It was chaos! Worse, even. Death-Eaters, giants, werewolfs, snatchers, vampires and Merlin knows what else I hadn't seen, all over the place. Shacklebolt saw Ron and Hermione ducking a giant's mace several times. That's why everyone thought she had been smashed to pieces in the first place. It would explain why Ron lost sight of her so suddenly too."

"Then why didn't you just believe that version and let it go?" Severus asked in puzzlement.

"Because Ron refused to talk about it!" Potter said, exasperated, as if it was so obvious. "He never said a word about Hermione after she went missing. We always told each other everything. His silence… it just wasn't normal. I even begged him to talk to me, but he wouldn't."

Interesting. Severus wondered if Weasley had been hit, at least partially by the same spell Hermione had. Maybe he had really forgotten what had happened to his friend. But why, then, had he looked so suspicious in the infirmary when he had to face her once more? That's what brought the unlikely pair together tonight: Potter wanted him to investigate.

"You want me to question Weasley, don't you?"

"I don't know anybody else who could. Someone who is in the know for Hermione, yet won't coddle Ron…"

Severus sneered, served another round of brandy and downed his own.

"What do _I_ have to gain from this nonsense?"

"For one," Potter answered promptly, with a smile returning to his annoying face. "You may learn something that could help Hermione recover so she can be out of here sooner. I've heard she's been quite mischievous with you."

"Wipe that stupid grin off your stupid face, Potter." Severus drawled as the amount of alcohol ingested finally kicked in.

"I can't. I think that story will be used to fuel my patronus from now on. Do you think my patronus will change to a bat?" The young man giggled.

"That's the most unmanly laugh I ever heard, Potter. Except for your stupid father's."

"Uh, oh. If we're already into the whole insulting fathers stage, I think I'd better get going. But do think about it, Prof'ssor. For 'Mione, if nothing else."

"As if I'd do it for _you_." The Slytherin spat. "Out, now, Potter. I've had enough of your ugly mug for a lifetime."

Potter waved at him cheerily as he left and Severus charmed the door to slam in his face for good measure. He dearly hoped the man would forget to use his invisibility cloak and ran into a hoard of drooling fangirls on his way out.

Sitting back in his chair and balancing precariously on the two hind legs, Severus committed to mind everything he had heard: Ron Weasley was the last to have seen Hermione, they had romantic feelings for one another, he refused to give details of her disappearance to anyone and last but not least, he had performed the walk of guilt to her sick-bed. No. Things did not look good for the youngest Weasley son and Severus made a solemn oath to get to the bottom of this and find the culprit of Hermione's disappearance. Magic swirled around him as the magical oath sealed its promise to the wizard.

"OH NO GODAMNIT!" Severus bellowed, remembering too late never to make promises while drinking. His magic always took his words way too literally.

* * *

Severus had no idea where Ron Weasley lived and he'd be damned before he called on blasted Harry Potter, the-man-with-whom-he'd-never-drink-again, for the information. Instead, he found himself knocking on the Burrow's door the next week-end.

He was already in a foul mood because he had to sacrifice his free time with the Weasleys when he'd rather spend it elucidating how Hermione had trespassed into his quarters. He still had no clue about that and the invasive witch had managed to pull the same stunt again, right under his nose.

The Weasley matriarch pulled the door open, wiping her hands on a washed-out flowery apron.

"Severus? Oh! My! What a surprise! Come in, come in! I was just getting a batch of scones out of the oven. How about I dish you out a couple with some strawberry jam and a nice cup of tea? You look like you could do with a few more pounds. Don't the elves feed you at Hogwarts? Really, you should come over more often for dinner. You're always welcome, Severus dear." Molly said without giving him the smallest opportunity to ask about her son. It's as if the woman didn't need to breath and she had effortlessly forced him into one of the dingy chairs cluttering the very large, very long table that took most of the place in the kitchen.

"That won't be-" Severus started, but it was already too late at two steamy jam-covered scones were thrust under his large nose, soon followed by a fragrant cup of tea. "Thank you, Molly."

"So what brings you here?" The witch asked, turning back to scrubbing savagely at some greasy pans.

_Now_ she asks! Severus took a bite of the hot delicacy and had to admit it helped settle his stomach.

"I came to inquire after Ronald. Could you tell me where I might find him?"

"Ron? He should still be at Lavender's at this hour. He won't be going to the joke shop for a couple of hours."

"Lavender?" The silly name rang a bell.

"Yes, Lavender Brown! She was one of your students too, same year as Ron. A Gryffindor too, of course."

Of course. Severus rolled his eyes at the woman's back.

"His girlfriend, I gather?"

"Fiancée, actually. She's a sweet girl. Not as bright as…" Molly's voice trailed off and the Slytherin could imagine very well who she had been comparing the girl to. The Weasley matriarch had probably had her son's wedding to the brightest witch of the age all planned out years ago, before her unfortunate disappearance. "But a very pretty girl." Molly concluded.

"He must be so happy." Severus sneered, oozing sarcasm.

Molly hummed non-committally, sending cleaned knives to fly to their drawer.

"Is- Is this about the boys' visit to Hogwarts?" The witch asked.

"It is." He drawled out, observing the woman's back. She looked very tense.

"Ron's a good boy, you know. He'd never hurt Hermione."

"Why do you say that?"

"Why else would you be here looking for him?" She countered, turning around to frown at him. "I know how Ron may have appeared to you, when he visited Hermione."

Severus arched an eyebrow.

"I'm not sure you realize just how guilty he looked, Molly. Even Potter, his best friend, is suspicious of him."

"He's my _child, _Severus. Of course I saw the guilt crushing him ever since the end of the war, as if he could hide it from his own mother. But it's just survivor's guilt. I'm sure of it."

"Would you bet your magic on that?"

"Yes." She answered determinedly, her chin jutting up as if daring him to say otherwise.

"I hope you're right, Molly. I hope you're right."

* * *

Severus decided to catch Ronald Weasley at the joke shop. He'd rather not deal with a half-asleep grumpy Gryffindor if he could help it.

"Snape." The red-headed young man greeted him as soon as he saw the black-clad wizard waiting in front of his shop, leaning casually against its bright red wall. "Mom said you were asking after me."

"Is that all she said?" Severus asked.

"No." Ron answered sullenly. "She told me to be polite. Sir."

Severus smirked. He quite liked the Weasley matriarch despite her being a Gryffindor through and through.

"Can we talk somewhere quiet?"

The ginger wizard shrugged.

"I came early to do an inventory anyway, so the shop is empty."

Ron opened the door with the weirdest key Severus had ever seen, made of so many bits and bobs, he couldn't fathom how the device worked, or even fit in the keyhole for that matter. The Gryffindor entered and set about his business, letting Severus to his own means. The Slytherin leaned against the counter to observed the younger man for a while. Just like his mother had done earlier that morning, Ronald Weasley was trying to keep his hands and mind occupied, knowing the discussion to follow was not going to be pleasant.

"So your mother did not tell you what I want to discuss with you?"

"No. But it's not very hard to figure out. It's about Hermione, right?"

Severus nodded before realizing the man wouldn't see him, being so engrossed in his counting.

"Mr Weasley, would you please sit for a few minutes so we can get this over with as soon as possible?"

Ron turned around, his clipboard shaking noticeably in his hand. He threw it on the counter and sat on a nearby crate, bursting with colourful balls that probably did something evil despite their non-threatening appearance.

"I'm concerned about your attitude in the infirmary yesterday." He said, looking him straight in the eyes.

"You weren't even there!" Ron blurted out, a tinge of colour returning to his cheeks.

"Yet, I saw what happened."

"Harry?" He asked after a lengthy pause.

Severus hesitated, before nodding imperceptibly, causing the Gryffindor to sigh.

"Never gives up, that one." He muttered.

Severus could just see the young man was going to be as pig-headed as he could about this whole affair and hold onto his secrets as much as he could.

"Your mother doesn't believe you are guilty of anything." The Slytherin offered, trying to tackle the problem from another angle. "And neither do I." He lied smoothly.

Ron's face went from sullen, to relieved, to surprised in the space of a few seconds, but he still kept silent.

"I'm not trying to cause problems, or lay blame on anyone, as hard as that is to believe." He continued with a self-deprecating smirk. "My only goal here is to gather as much information as possible in order to help Miss Granger. That's all."

Weasley bit his lip, the heated debate raging inside his thick skull playing across his features.

"You promise you won't tell anyone?" The ginger wizard pleaded, guilt pouring off of him in waves.

If he had never spoken a word of this to anyone before, he was probably bursting at the seams with the need to confide in someone, anyone, even the greasy git, as long as they in turn kept the secret. Severus frowned at the prospect, but if it was the only way to obtain the information he needed, so be it.

"I give you my word." The dark man said, thinking he could always backpedal if the man before him had done something despicable.

Ron cleared his throat, seemed about to talk before suddenly standing up and asking him to follow. Severus found himself in a windowless, cluttered office at the far end of the shop. Two identical desks took up most of the room and the redhead took a seat at one of them, rummaging around the parchments and junk heaped upon it until he triumphantly held out a half empty bottle of firewhisky. What was it with Gryffindors and alcohol?

"It's not even eight o'clock, Mr Weasley." He stated.

The other wizard shrugged. "Done worse." And drank a swig right from the bottle.

"I'll be needing a precise account, Weasley, not a drunkard's mumblings of how he kissed his cousin by mistake." Severus sneered.

By the flush that coloured his cheeks, the Slytherin judged it had probably happened too, but in the wizarding world, that wasn't such a rare occurrence. Muggleborns excepted, everyone was somehow related to everyone else, you just needed to look a few generations back.

"I- I'm not sure where to start." Ron said, his hands playing with the bottle of firewhisky.

"I heard the last anyone saw of you and Miss Granger, you were dodging a giant's mace on the battlefield?" Severus prompted.

"Yeah." The other man answered with a lopsided smile. "That was pretty crazy. And it wasn't so much a mace as a tree-trunk. It still had leaves attached to it, if you can believe that. Anyway, we managed to duck the attacks pretty easily. Giants are strong but not that fast. The hardest part was to shake him off our trail, we couldn't do much against a giant and we were trying to catch up to Harry." He stopped, looking uneasy, but Severus waited him out, letting the Gryffindor gather his courage. "We decided to avoid the thick of the battle by skirting around, following the edge of the Forbidden Forest, which turned out to be a very bad idea."

The redhead gulped, looking down at his feet.

"Spiders." He squeaked.

"Spiders?" Severus echoed. That wasn't what he had been expecting.

"Not normal spiders, but those huge things Hagrid is friends with... Accio-something."

"Accromantulas?" The Slytherin asked.

"Yeah, those..." Ron agreed, a little green in the face. "I hate normal-sized spiders, I still do. But when I saw those things creeping out of the trees again, I just froze, I couldn't even remember the spell Harry used in our second year. I was just so bloody useless."

"Is that when-"

"No! No. You know Hermione... When she couldn't get me to move, she used this brilliant spell that made a huge snake appear, might even have been a basilisk for all I know, although I think it was all just an illusion. But it freaked the acciomantles out and they scattered like crazy. That's where I lost Hermione. I was holding her hand, but one of the spiders bowled us over and we got separated. I- I couldn't find her after that… the herd of spiders just kept pushing us apart. I tried looking for her, I really did. I called for her, I ran around the whole place in circles looking for her and then…"

A shudder ran through the Gryffindor.

"I heard her screams." He whispered.

Severus paled, completely entranced by the tale. How had he never told anyone about this?

"But I still couldn't find her!" A sob wracked his body. "The screams seemed to come from everywhere at once. It was horrible. For all I knew, she could have been right next to me, maybe I could have saved her!"

"No, Mr Weasley." Severus sneered despite himself at the man's dramatics. "I don't think you could have. Best case scenario, you would have suffered the same fate."

A sad chuckle escaped Ron's mouth.

"But don't you see? It's all my fault! If I hadn't been afraid of spiders… it's so stupid. It's all my fault. I wish it had been me instead."

The Slytherin chose to ignore that purely Gryffindor sentiment: contrary to his own House, the lions had no sense of self-preservation, but he now understood why Weasley felt so very guilty.

"What can you tell me about Miss Granger's screams? Was she calling for help? Are you certain she was still in the forest? Could it have been someone else you heard? About when did it happen?" Severus' rapid-fire questions seemed to daze the young man for an instant and he wondered if he'd gone too far when Ron closed his eyes and let his head fall in his hands.

"I can still hear her screams, sometimes, at night. I'm sure it was Hermione, I'd recognize her voice anywhere. I don't know how Harry manages to cope with the nightmares but I'm a real wreck the next day. Her screams…" He paused to think for a bit. "I never tried to think too much about them before, but I can tell you Hermione wasn't calling for help, just screaming her head off. Not like when she was under the crucio though, not in pain. It was more like she was… terrified of something. It's how I imagine she'd scream if she was handed only Trolls on her OWL and NEWT results."

Severus had heard the witch's boggart in her third year was of Minerva telling the silly girl she had failed all her exams, so Weasley was probably correct in his description, but what could have terrorized her so much in the middle of a war when she had already witnessed and experienced all kinds of horror?

"And then her screams stopped. Just like that. So I thought… I thought she was… and I was wrong. But when I still couldn't find her, I left the Forest and saw the battle was over and people were starting to help the wounded, so I asked for help to search for Hermione. The rest you probably know."

Severus nodded. He hadn't been there when the redhead had come screaming for help but he had heard about it as soon as he had woken up in the hospital ward and asked about Potter. Unfortunately, discussing Hermione's disappearance with Ronald Weasley had not given him as much clues as he had hoped, except dismissing the ginger wizard as a possible suspect. If he was lying, he was very talented at it but Severus didn't believe him capable of such treachery. You just had to look at the pathetic lies Weasley and Potter tried to feed him when they continuously broke rules at Hogwarts.

However, it still left the mystery of why the amnesic witch had attacked him in the infirmary. Did she subconsciously blame him for having abandoned her in the Forest? It seemed unlikely since she didn't remember anything else.

Severus sighed and thanked Weasley for his cooperation, before vanishing the bottle of firewhisky before the redhead's disbelieving eyes and giving him a last piece of advice:

"You should tell Potter."

The black-clad wizard then apparated to Hogwarts and hurried up the path. He had a meeting with Ollivander and Hermione.


	5. Chapter 5: The Wandmaker

**Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling's etc etc... You know the stuff.**

**The Savage**

**A HP fanfiction by Magda the Magpie, beta'd by Fredrika.**

**A/N: Sorry for the lateness, Internet broke up with me but we're back together again. Thanks for all the reviews, you guys are awesome!**

* * *

5: The Wandmaker

Severus arrived before Ollivander, as he hoped he would, so he waited for the old wandmaker in front of the infirmary doors, pacing back and forth. Several students had come and gone upon seeing the irate professor guarding the door, preferring to get healed later on.

Severus wanted to make Ollivander swear to keep Hermione's not-so-dead status a secret from the world at large until she was either cured or well enough to handle strangers crowding around her whenever she went out. He had no doubt she _would_ be a celebrity, what with her being Potter's best friend, having played a very important role to bring down the Dark Lord and being mysteriously resurrected to top it off. Not to mention the news was kind of slow as there wasn't much happening in the wizarding world in these peaceful times. Potter was going to have some serious competition for the Prophet's headline.

Severus would obtain Ollivander's silence, he vowed, one way or another. He wasn't averse to using a Confondus here and there, or even an Obliviate if necessary, to protect Hermione... Only to fulfil his accidental oath to protect her, of course. Not because he had grown inexplicably fond of his bare-foot, no. She actually annoyed him greatly most of the time: invading his private quarters at night, bat-shadowing him in the corridors during the day... But then, she always gave him this dazzling smile whenever she saw him...

The Slytherin had talked to Hermione already, explaining to her that a man would be coming that day to examine the strange pattern embedded in her hand. Of course she hadn't understood him and had even thought he wanted to hold hands when he pointed at hers in an effort to make his meaning clearer. A good thing Minerva hadn't been around or he would have earned himself another baleful look from the old witch. More so because Severus had been unable to prevent a smile from touching his thin lips when she tried wrapping her little hand around his large callused ones.

The Headmistress had come to him during the week, grudgingly apologizing about her reaction when she had retrieved Hermione from his quarters, but he could see she was still suspicious of him when he was only trying to help the amnesic witch.

"Professor Snape, good day." The wandmaker greeted him, seemingly coming out of nowhere. He was probably using one of Albus' old, annoying tricks. At least this old codger didn't twinkle at him.

"Good day, Mr Ollivander, and thank you for agreeing to come all the way to Hogwarts." He replied smoothly.

"Your letter was quite intriguing. I've never been asked for my opinion on a wand injury before. The healers at St Mungos think they know everything." The old man rolled his eyes and Severus hummed as expected to show his agreement.

"St Mungos _might_ have been able to heal our guest, but I'm afraid I need your discretion as much as your expertise in this case." The Slytherin said diplomatically.

Ollivander studied him for a minute, his eyes glowing strangely in the castle's shadowy corridor.

"Alright." The wandmaker finally agreed, opposing surprisingly little reluctance.

"Will you swear on your magic?" The Slytherin insisted.

"That important, eh? Oh, very well. Albus had asked me to trust you after all. He must have had his reasons."

Severus sneered at his inane reasoning but accepted the man's word nonetheless. Pushing the heavy double doors open, he waited for the old man to shuffle in and sealed the entrance closed once more against whiny students and nosy staff. The nurse frowned in disapproval.

"I'm sure the dunderheads' little scrapes and bruises can wait for awhile, Poppy."

The woman sighed dramatically but followed the two men nonetheless.

Hermione waited for the new stranger to approach with a guarded look. Despite the many visitors she had had these last days, she was still wary of new faces since meeting Ron Weasley. Severus wondered if seeing him had triggered a memory of her last moments as Hermione Granger to resurface.

After a few minutes of tense silence, the witch relaxed, having lost interest as she decided such an old wrinkly man was no threat to her, the formidable werewolf-basher that she was.

"By Merlin's staff !" Ollivander exclaimed, freezing where he stood. "Is that... Who I think it is? I never forget a face, but I never expected to see this one again."

"If you are speaking about Miss Granger, you are correct." Severus replied tersely, hating to speak in riddles with a passion. "So you understand the need for discretion?"

"Oh, I do. I certainly do." Ollivander said eagerly, dropping his bag and travelling cloak on a bed.

He approached the witch calmly as if sensing there was something dangerous and wild about her.

"Miss Granger, may I?" He asked in a soft voice, extending his own hand, palm up.

Hermione looked at the old wizard quizzically, before turning towards Severus. The Slytherin nodded encouragingly and she squeezed Ollivander's hand with her own. The wandmaker chuckled and gently turned her hand around, peering closely at the star-burst pattern, visible just under the skin's surface.

"Just as you said in your letter, Professor Snape. Oh, it's beautiful and rather unique, isn't it?"

Severus sneered. Trust a barmy wandmaker to find a wand wound anything but ghastly.

"Have you ever treated such an injury before?" He asked instead.

"As a matter of fact, yes, I have. It is a common occurrence amongst us wandmakers. As you probably know, we test the wands we create before leaving them in the hands of our customers. Most of them are children, after all. It would be very irresponsible not to guarantee their safety. For those of us who like to experiment the more unstable cores and...unusual combinations of materials, it is not so rare that the wand will explode in just this manner, right in our hand."

Severus' eyes widened. He had never heard of this and had so many questions now.

"Does it work as a magical conduct? Like having a wand then?" The Slytherin had a nagging suspicion this was how the witch had been breaking into his quarters.

"Not for everyone or I'm sure it would somehow become a fad, and not a very good one at that." The old man chuckled. "I'm sure you can guess one of the major drawbacks yourself."

Severus thought about this. If it was like wandless magic, the big advantage was that you couldn't be disarmed. Except it wasn't truly wandless magic because you had a wand, only it was hidden...

"Disarming spells, summoning charms and most any spells targeting a wand would be painful." He stated with certainty, remembering then his second encounter with the bare-foot on the Quidditch pitch, where he had used expelliarmus on her. She had even cried out in pain.

"Exactly! Even a simple polishing charm would be excruciating, as a matter of fact."

Severus grimaced. An embedded wand had more drawbacks than benefits, and if Hermione was concerned, it would have to be remedied. But first, he had to be sure:

"What kind of people would be able to use an embedded wand like this?" He asked with narrowed eyes, daring the nosy wizard to ask for details.

"Oh, so she _has_ used magic, then? Thought so. To answer your question, as far as the Guild of Wandmakers has been able to make out, only those with a predisposition to wandless magic - real wandless magic, that is - and recluse hermits who are closer to nature than their fellow humans. There are quite a few of those in our profession."

Severus blinked in surprise. Hermione undoubtedly fit the second category, but she had also been a very talented witch and could very well fit the first too.

"So you reckon this is what happened to Miss Granger? Her wand exploded in her hand?"

Ollivander rubbed his chin as he pondered this.

"The similarities are too great for it to have been anything else. But did her own wand explode in her hand? And why? Or had she "borrowed" another's wand? It happened more often than not during those dark times… But in either case, she would have been using a stabilized wand, so I'm afraid that to answer any of these questions, I will need to carefully retrieve all these fragments by hand. Without magic." The wandmaker added unnecessarily.

Severus grimaced, imagining the pain such a muggle-like procedure would procure.

"A sleeping draught would be agreeable for this?" He asked.

"It would be preferable, yes." Ollivander answered, reaching for his bag and meticulously setting out sharp tools on a tray next to the witch's bed while Poppy coaxed her into drinking the sour potion. As she lay there, waiting for sleep to take her, the Slytherin moved to leave when Hermione tugged at the edge of his billowing robe, forcing him to stop dead in his tracks. Merlin, was she strong. She wouldn't relinquish her grip even when he tugged the cloth back. Severus was fully aware of Ollivander and Poppy's amused gazes, and made a show of grumbling unhappily before taking a seat next to her bed. As soon as the two busy-bodies returned to their business, the raven-haired wizard murmured soothing words to his bare-foot, until her eyes fluttered closed.

Severus stayed by Hermione's side, holding the hand Ollivander was not operating on, and two hours later, the wandmaker declared himself satisfied he had managed to extract every last bit of wood and less savoury fragments that had been stuck in her hand for so long. Severus looked over his handiwork and discovered dozens of shards neatly laid on a tray in the same star-burst pattern they had originally been in. Well, that explained why he had retrieved them by hand so carefully.

Poppy then applied some essence of dittany and a mild healing spell for the deeper gouges, making her hand as good as new in no time.

Ollivander secured the fragments almost lovingly, which Severus found disturbing, and he promised to analyse the fragments to have a clearer idea of what had happened to the young woman as soon as he could.

"But whatever happened," The wandmaker concluded. "A wand exploding never affected anyone's mind... as far as the Guild of Wandmakers can tell."

With that, Ollivander left, humming an odd little tune out of key.

"Completely barmy." Severus muttered under his breath as he reclaimed his chair next to Hermione's bed, waiting for the potion's effect to dissipate. But at least, it was a valuable piece of information. Another cause of the witch's amnesia he could cross off his mental list.

"Isn't she awake yet?" The nurse asked, coming to check on her favourite patient for the umpteenth time.

"She's probably pretending to sleep just to avoid your hovering." He grumbled in reply, not low enough unfortunately, as the medi-witch whacked him behind the head, before checking Hermione's vitals once more.

"What?" The Slytherin asked, alarmed when the nurse grimaced.

"Well… She looks a bit peaky. I think it's staying cooped up in the castle. She can't be used to it after living so long in the wild."

"Take her out, then." Severus dead-panned.

"Oh, I'd _love_ to." Poppy answered so sweetly his teeth ached. "But maybe you've noticed I'm the only healer in a school full of hormonal teenagers waving wands around?"

Severus nodded grimly. Theirs was a dangerous profession indeed.

"And I can't ask Minerva to do it. She would, of course, but she needs a cane for long-distances. Hagrid wouldn't mind either but if Hermione made a run for it into the Forest, there is no way he could stop her or catch up to her…"

"So you want _me_ to -what?- take her out for a walk?" He deduced.

"I don't see who else could. Unless… I guess I could floo Harry Potter. _He_ wouldn't mind."

"Oh, very well, you perfidious woman."

"I'll take that as a compliment coming from you." The nurse smirked, pinching his cheek as she left for her office again.

* * *

A while later, Hermione woke up with a strangled scream, fighting against her sheets, getting more and more tangled as she thrashed about. Without hesitation, Severus gathered her in his arms, trying to calm her down.

"A nightmare. It was only a nightmare, Hermione. Don't worry. You're safe, you're in the castle, with Minerva, Poppy… and me. Don't worry, Hermione, I've got you, I'm here…"

All the while wondering what someone who was amnesic could have nightmares about. He rocked her back and forth, patting her back until her breathing steadied.

"What happened?" Poppy whispered, so close to his ear, Severus thanked the nerves of steel he had refined over the years as a spy, allowing him not to flinch and startle Hermione.

"A nightmare." He replied softly. "Has she had any before?"

"Yes." The nurse answered hesitantly. "The night after she saw Ronald Weasley, but it could be just a coincidence…"

"Don't be daft, woman. Of course it is no coincidence." The Slytherin snapped. He was angry Poppy had not told him about this before, although he knew she had no reason to. He wasn't a member of her family, nor her guardian, not even her friend or her former Head of House, but he had found her, goddamnit, he had brought her back to where she belonged! Wasn't he entitled to be kept informed of her health, at the very least?

"The nightmare, I think it might be about her very last memory. The only one she seems to have left." He told the nurse, because she was her caregiver and might need the information. She nodded in understanding.

"Hermione? Are you feeling better?" He asked the witch still huddled in his arms. Her face was tucked into the crook of his arm and completely covered by her hair, as if she was trying to make herself invisible.

At the concerned tone of his voice though, Hermione pulled back to look into his dark eyes and smiled, squeezing his arm as if thanking him. Sometimes, she looked so normal, as if Hermione Granger, the Gryffindor know-it-all, was just lurking under the surface of his wild bare-foot. This situation was all so fucked up. Should they even be calling her Hermione? Should they even bother talking to her when she didn't seem to understand anything?

"Let's go for a walk." He said abruptly. Some fresh air would do him good too, and maybe it would clear his mind. "But first, some warm clothes. And boots." He stated, looking critically at her naked feet dangling from the bed.

Severus did some foolish wand waving, transfiguring some extra blankets into a heavy greyish cloak and a pair of fur-lined boots. They looked dull but warm enough for the season. Transfiguration had never been his strong suit anyway, nor fashion, and Hermione looked delighted to see objects transform into other objects right before her eyes. She clapped her hands enthusiastically and he mock-bowed in appreciation. The tall wizard then wrapped the cloak around her, making sure it was a snug fit and magically adding a hood as an afterthought so she wasn't so recognizable, before helping her into her boots. She still hated wearing shoes although she at least walked normally with them now.

Once on the castle's front steps, Severus blinked in the bright outside light, waiting for a few seconds to get used to it. There weren't too many dunderheads on the grounds despite the sun, since the air was still chilly, but the few that were there soon noticed his presence and started pointing fingers and sniggering. They probably wondered what poor soul had to suffer his company, or if he was, Merlin forbid, on a date. Severus rolled his eyes, he often wondered why he was still working in a school. He looked at Hermione whose cheeks had quickly reddened as she ran around like an eager puppy around him. She sometimes went a little farther ahead and Severus tensed, fearing she'd leave, but she would always come running right back. Maybe she liked being a resident of the castle, after all. Maybe she liked having company, even if it was just a few members of the staff.

Severus panicked when he saw Hermione run straight into a tree. Except that instead of crashing against the hard trunk as he had expected, she continued her run _up_ the tree, using her speed and agility to push herself effortlessly onto the lower branches. He was wondering how to get her down without losing too much of his dignity when she somersaulted off another branch and landed neatly beside him.

"Show-off." He muttered.

Well, at least he could cross out the physical trauma in the list of causes for her memory loss. The woman's motor skills were not affected at all, and, if anything, they were better than before. She had no cognitive disability either. She had proven she could learn, quite easily in fact, just like her old self could. There was only the almost total memory loss, but it appeared glaringly obvious it had not been caused by a mere blow to the head.

Ronald Weasley had said she had been screaming. Being exposed too long to a crucio would explain her screams as well as the memory loss, like the unfortunate Longbottoms, but Poppy had found no major nerve damage on Hermione, nor the brain lesions that affected the two former aurors, so he could rule out that possibility too. Ollivander had even ruled out the exploding wand as a probable cause.

Now that he was more certain, by a simple process of elimination, that it was just a bloody memory charm of some sort that had robbed Hermione of her memories, he felt he could actually do something to help her recover them. However, there were so many memory charms that could account for her state, he wasn't sure where to start, except...He was after all a master legilimens, probably the best in all of Britain since Dumbledore and Voldemort's demises. If there was the slightest trace left of the spell that had been cast on her in her pretty little head, he would find it, and reverse it - or destroy it. But to do something so extreme, he would have to get Poppy and Minerva's permission.

* * *

"I don't think it can hurt to try." The school nurse answered after Severus had submitted his idea to the two witches in an emergency meeting.

The Slytherin winced.

"Actually, it can." He retorted, glancing at Hermione who was playing with a bowl of rainbow goldfish Minerva had created for her. "I'm not talking about a surface scan of her mind, which is what I used to do daily as a spy and is hardly felt by anyone. I'm talking about the more elaborate branch of Legilimency, which is very invasive and can be quite painful, especially if the subject tries to fight my presence within its mind."

The two witches considered this for a few minutes, shifting uneasily in their chairs.

"Besides the pain, can it cause damage to her mind? Is there the slightest risk she will be worse off than she already is?" The headmistress asked, clearly not liking the idea of dismissing pain as something acceptable. She would never have been able to take the kind of decisions Dumbledore had during the war. The old coot would have agreed without second thoughts about his idea.

"If I was anything but a master-legilimens, maybe. As it is, I can guarantee you I will not mess up Miss Granger's mind any more than it already is. However, I can't guarantee you I'll succeed, but I have good hope I will."

Both women looked satisfied by his explanation and agreed, on one condition.

"I think we should ask Mister Potter to witness the procedure, as a family member, since he's the closest thing we have to it." Minerva said.

Severus snorted, but could see how that could be necessary. What they were attempting was a bit on the experimental side after all.

"If he agrees, that is." He replied.

"I'm sure he will. We all only have Hermione's best interest at heart." Poppy said, winking at him.

Severus scowled and left before his "friends" asked him to contact Potter, too. It was bad enough having to see the aggravating man again.

* * *

Precious Potter couldn't free his time for two days because he was on some kind of secret mission for the auror department, but at least Ollivander was taking this situation seriously and had sent him an owl the very next day. He had probably spent the whole night analysing all the tiny bits of shattered wand, but he could feel the wand-maker's giddiness over his discovery through his missive.

The Slytherin admitted his findings were very interesting. The fragments found under Hermione's skin were walnut shards and traces of dragon heartstring and, according to the Golden Trio's heroic tale that everyone in wizarding Britain knew, Hermione had been using Bellatrix Lestrange's wand during the final battle at Hogwarts, even when she duelled its former owner. As Ollivander pointed out, the crazy Lestrange witch's wand had been a 12 ¾ inches walnut and dragon heartstring wand. That was no coincidence, especially because that wand had never been recovered after the war, although Hermione's original one had, which meant the wand Hermione had been using somehow exploded in her own hand.

As for what caused the explosion, Ollivander could only point out some of the piece seemed to have been partially singed, but it could be due to the explosion itself and not the cause of the explosion.

Severus sighed. They uncovered some mysteries, only to have more questions crop up in its wake. But it did remind him to inquire about Hermione's original wand as he had no idea himself where it was kept. He supposed Saint Harry Potter must know and made a mental note to ask him about it when he finally decided to grace them with his presence. Although, whether having her wand would help the amnesic witch or not was yet another mystery. She certainly didn't seem to need one to get through his wards.

Severus cried out in frustration when he realized he had spent yet another morning thinking about _her_. Sure, it was only because he was trying to figure out the complex puzzle that she was... But he was still thinking about _her_ again, and he found that very disturbing. Shoving Ollivander's letter in his desk's topmost drawer, he went in search of a house-elf to order about and a first year to bully into tears. Two things he knew with certainty Hermione would hate.

"So?" Potter asked impatiently.

Severus had broken eye-contact with Hermione literally a second ago, so he made a show of taking ample time to make sure the amnesic witch wasn't suffering from after-effects of his legilimency, making sure she was comfortably seated, picked imaginary lint off his impeccable robes and served himself from the steaming pot of tea before finally taking a seat right next to Hermione. The Slytherin could see Potter's eye twitch.

"Well? What did you find?" Minerva asked, frowning at his childish behaviour.

"As I feared, nothing." He answered.

"Nothing?" The three spectators all squeaked at the same time. Potter fell back in the chair he had vacated when Severus had began investigating his friend's mind to pace nervously around the office.

"I can't explain it myself." The legilimens confessed. "I've never seen a mind so completely picked clean before. Even that idiot Lockheart who was hit with a full blast of obliviate retained most of his early memories and his personality."

"What do you mean? Is her head just... empty?" Potter cut in.

"Not as such. Surely, even a dunderhead such as you would have guessed she has intact memories of her time alone in the forbidden forest."

Severus paused, the images of a wild and beautiful savage woman running after small prey in the dangerous woods for sustenance, and jumping from tree to tree to evade becoming prey herself from the larger predators, assaulted his mind.

"Those memories are intact, as well as those since _I_ brought her back to the castle." The Slytherin smirked at the knowledge that he occupied a much more important part of her life than Potter now. "Which is good news, of a sort." He concluded.

"How can that be good news." Minerva moaned.

"Simply put, it's not a degenerative form of memory loss." Severus answered, but had to elaborate upon seeing their perplexed expressions. "The curse that was used on her has no long term effects. She won't lose new memories because of it."

"But you don't know what that curse is?" The old headmistress asked hopefully.

"It's nothing I've ever seen or read about, that's for sure. It's as if her memories have been violently snatched away, one after another, leaving blank patches with the odd colour, sound or smell lingering behind. It's like..." The Slytherin paused, searching for words that would best describe the strange swirl of sensations he had witnessed. "It's like looking at a photo album where all the picture have been ripped off. You can see some of the torn corners, discolouration around the missing pictures, a forlorn description to a blank space..."

Potter's brow was furrowed. No doubt he was imagining his own bloody happy-family photo album ripped of its contents.

"Yeah, I see what you mean." He confirmed. "But why did she attack Ron then if she has no memories left prior to the attack?"

"I couldn't reach the memory of the attack but I think there's something left of it. However, Miss Granger has buried that memory so deeply in the recesses of her mind that I could only catch a glimpse of it before her terror shut me out completely. I don't think she'll be willing to try again." Severus said with a frustrated sigh.

He ran his slender fingers through his long dark hair, cursing when they snagged a knot, took a minute to regain his composure before looking each of the witnesses in turn and announcing:

"All I managed to see through the blur were flaming orange hair and blood-red eyes."

**A/N: Okay...thoughts? This is getting surprisingly hard to write because I knew nothing of how the brain works (if there are medics amongst you, please don't laugh) and it's kind of hard of strengthening the relationship between Severus and Hermione seeing as she is a bit like a cute puppy for now.**


	6. Chapter 6: The Ally

**Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling's… Although… I **_**am**_** inventing a time machine to publish it before she does. Mwhahahaha! I'm so evil!**

**The Savage**

**A HP fanfiction by Magda the Magpie, beta'd by Fredrika.**

**A/N: Wow, thanks for the feedback! Many of you had amazing ideas, a few of you are getting closer to the truth too ;)**

**Moi left an interesting review concerning a forgotten Horcrux, with a Weasley probably possessed… but to tell you the truth, I'm not a fan of the whole Horcrux plot and tend to avoid it when I can, so sorry, that's not the solution here.**

6: The Ally

Of course the red eyes had immediately made Severus think of his former master, the now defeated Lord Voldemort. But imagining him with ginger hair - or just with hair for that matter - just gave him a bad case of the giggles and that was unacceptable. What if someone saw him? His reputation had already taking a blow because of Hermione's antics. He had somehow become the unwilling recipient of her annoying puppy-like behaviour, and the female gender of the castle found it cute while the males openly snickered at him. He wasn't sure which was worse.

In fact, the more he recalled the red-eyed attacker, the more he wondered if the memory hadn't been tampered with, because the blurry being he had glimpsed didn't look like anyone he knew of who had been fighting on the dark side. Granted, the Dark Lord's paranoia had been at its height and he may have had allies known only to him… Severus scratched his five o'clock shadow and sank deeper into his armchair, relishing in the warmth of the fireplace's dying embers.

Unfortunately, if he couldn't totally exclude the possibility of the red-eyed ginger monster being one of Voldemort's recruits, then he had to investigate this lead by any means possible. The only problem being most of the Death-Eaters had either died in battle or at the hands of angry mobs after their capture, or had been executed by the Ministry after a trial of Lucius Malfoy, however. No, never a Malfoy. Count on him to worm his way out of fighting for Voldemort, without even joining Potter's side in Battle, and still walk free today, albeit with a tarnished reputation. However, he was the only other inner-circle Death-Eater left whose brains he could pick though, so it would have to suffice.

* * *

Severus hadn't waited for long to storm Malfoy Manor. At the first opportunity, he had apparated right in front of the heavy metal gates. Both the gate and the wards accepted his intrusion and he wondered if the Malfoy patriarch had forgotten to update them since the war. Surely not, or anyone with a Dark Mark would be able to waltz in here and get revenge for his last-minute defection. Not that there should be any more Death-Eaters roaming the British country-side, except if they successfully faked their death or had been so freshly recruited nobody knew about them, but you couldn't be too prudent where your family was concerned. He was well into the center of the huge manor when an apologetic house-elf popped into existence right in front of him, and he cursed as he almost stumbled upon it.

"How can Winny help Sir Visitor, sir?" The house-elf asked.

"Just tell me where I can find your master." Severus sighed, annoyed he had lost the element of surprise as the elf would warn Lucius of his arrival as soon as he turned his back.

"Master is in the blue study, Sir Visitor. That way, sir." Winny answered, pointing a stubby finger down the side corridor he had just walked past, before disappearing with a soft pop.

The study in question wasn't hard to find as it was the only open door and the light from inside poured into the dimly-lit hallway. The set-up screamed "trap" at him, but only because his spy-habits were hard to let go of, so instead, he strolled right into the middle of the room as if he owned the place, stopping a few feet away from Lucius Malfoy.

"You could at least have the courtesy of owling a note, you know. Dropping by unannounced is so uncouth." Lucius drawled from his ornate chair, his silk adorned chest puffing out like the ridiculous peacocks he kept all over his gardens.

Severus raised a sardonic eyebrow and both chuckled, letting their dour pureblood facades fall. They had been friends for decades, or as close as Slytherins got to friendship, and could afford to drop the act behind closed doors.

They eyed each other critically. Lucius seeming surprised for some reason. Did he expect to see a drunk or worse, a potions-addict. Well, if he had to be honest, he had gone through that after Voldemort's first fall, and Lucius had helped him out, but he had been young and stupid then. Severus took his time to scrutinize the blond wizard too. He was groomed to perfection, as always, but Severus sensed he lacked the arrogant fire that made him such a formidable man before. If you scratched the shiny, pretty surface, Severus was certain he would only find a shadow of what the man had once been, but since he had been an arrogant ruthless bastard, he wasn't sure that was such a bad thing. Finally, his host gestured him to the seat next to his.

"Good to see you, Severus. Although I don't quite understand the purpose of your visit as you seem to have been avoiding me since the war ended." Lucius inquired with a sad smile.

"I thought it better two reformed Death-Eaters weren't seen meeting one another. Merlin knows what drivel the Prophet would spew about _that_." The Head of Slytherin answered gravely.

"Probably that we're trying to bring _him_ back." The blond wizard replied scornfully, his pointy nose twitching in disgust.

"And in no time, mobs would be at our doors, with pitchforks and torches." Severus quipped, trying to make light of a situation he knew very well could happen.

They remained silent while the same house-elf that had intercepted him hurriedly set out a tea tray. Severus glared at it and was rewarded with a panicked squeak when the creature glanced up at him. He smiled inwardly, he liked doing what Hermione would hate, it made him feel less dependent on the woman. Blast her for haunting his thoughts as well as his castle.

"So what _does_ bring you here. Not that I mind. People don't fall over themselves to socialize with our family." Lucius said.

"It's a sensitive matter and I can't tell you everything," Severus warned. "But I need to find someone who may or may not have been amongst _his_ army at the Battle of Hogwarts."

"Hum…" Lucius hummed thoughtfully. "That entails a whole lot of witches and wizards, and not only British at that. Not to mention all the dark creatures: hags, werewolves, vampires, dementors, rogue goblins, giants... You name them, he had them. To be frank, I'm not sure I could even give you an exhaustive tally. Especially after I… fell out of favour."

Severus nodded gravely.

"It should be fairly easy for you to answer though. The person I'm looking for has a rather unique appearance."

The dark haired man smirked as he saw a spark of interest ignite the other man's eyes.

"How so?"

"Blood red eyes and fiery orange hair."

"You're kidding me, Sev." Lucius said aghast, either horrified at the reminder of Voldemort's unique eyes or at their atrocious combination with ginger hair.

"I wish. So, anyone - or anything - fit that description?"

The blond wizard did not even need a second to think on it.

"Absolutely not. Really, I'm still not sure you're serious. But, as I said, I was hardly in the Dark Lord's confidence in the end. Bella would have known -may her soul rot forever."

The crazy witch probably would have known at that, she was more of a consort to the Dark Lord than a proper wife to her own husband. It was sickening. Severus was disappointed but not overly so. He knew it had been a long shot and he pondered what to do next.

"You could always go through her vault, mind you. Maybe she left some information in there. I know for a fact she kept all the paperwork she deemed important in there." Lucius offered after a moment's silence.

"You'd give me the key to her vault? Just like that?" Severus asked in disbelief.

"Of course not." His host smirked, like the cat that got the cream. "Don't think I've gone all soft, Sev. Just because I don't go out in the world anymore doesn't mean I've gone off my rocker."

Severus sighed. Maybe Lucius should take his place as Head of Slytherin. He was such the consummate Slytherin, even his friends weren't safe. Was the information he may find in Bellatrix's vault worth whatever Lucius was planning to ask of him? Probably not, and chances were he wouldn't find anything, but Severus did not know where to investigate next in any case. He scowled because he hated gambling, and doing so with Lucius guaranteed you would lose.

"What is it you want, then?" He finally asked, defeated.

"Don't be so melodramatic, Severus. I'm only worried about you."

Severus snorted, earning him a scowl from his old friend.

"I _am_ worried about you, and so is Cissy. I only want to know why you're doing this. If you're going on a wild man-hunt for the wrong reasons, I won't help you, because nothing good will come out of it for you. So, tell me what this is all about and you will have my full support - not that it means as much as it once did, but I will do my best."

To say Severus was surprised by his friend's concern would be the understatement of the century. As it was, he was struggling not to appear _too_ surprised so as not to insult Lucius. But he was still hesitant to confide anything about Hermione.

"That is quite the Hufflepuff sentiment, Lucius. But I can assure you I'm only attempting to help a… friend." He said instead.

"A friend? I always thought I was your only friend. You wound me, Sev." The blond man replied, affecting a hurt look. "And just who is this friend? I wasn't aware many of our old circle of friends made it out alive."

Severus scowled at him and slowly finished sipping his tea. Maybe if he extracted a wizard's oath of secrecy from him. It wasn't as if he could do anything with the information in any case as he was cooped up in his big empty manor most of the time. A gamble. Life was always a gamble.

"Take out your wand." Severus ordered brusquely. "Vow you'll keep what I'm about to tell you secret and I will satisfy your curiosity."

"Drama-queen." Lucius muttered but he wielded his wand nonetheless.

"Gossip-monger." Severus retorted, and waited for his host to perform the required oath before resuming. "You'll understand the need for secrecy once I'm finished, Lucius. I found a person everyone thought had died during the Battle of Hogwarts, but this person has had their memories erased by the red-eyed ginger you're so worried I'm hunting down. I need to find who it is and what he has done so I can restore the memories."

"It's… It's not one of…"

"One of our former brethren? No." Severus scoffed. "I'm not sure a single one of them was redeemable. I wouldn't go through all this trouble if it was."

"No. I'm actually relieved. You and my family would be prime targets, just as much as Potter. So who is it then? Anyone I know?"

Severus nodded, _everyone_ knew who she was.

"Hermione Granger." He answered, still hating giving her name to Lucius despite extracting an oath of secrecy from him.

The blond man choked on his tea before turning white as a sheet. Severus narrowed his eyes at the guilt clearly displayed there.

"Lucius," He warned. "If you're hiding something from me concerning Miss Granger, you'd better tell me _now_. And if you did anything to her, so Merlin help me, I swear I'll-"

"No! It's not what you think, Severus." His host said hurriedly. "Rather, it's what I didn't do. You see, Potter didn't let it be widely known because he had enough difficulties as it was to get my family off the hook, but when Potter and his friends were captured by snatchers and brought here... Bella singled out Miss Granger and tortured her in the worst ways possible."

Lucius gulped, his hands trembling.

"It was really sickening and she was just a child then too, but... I didn't stop Bella, I didn't dare. I just stood there and watched."

Severus scowled, he was furious but reigned in his desire to lash out at him. Lucius was in no position at the time to do anything, he didn't even have a wand then, for Merlin's sake. If he had intervened, he would only have been punished, or worse, for his trouble. That's how it worked amongst the Death-Eaters. Severus let out the breath he hadn't realized he was holding.

"She just has the worse luck imaginable." He muttered under his breath, and, thinking back, she really had: attacked by a troll in her first year, petrified in her second, attacked by a werewolf in the third, the fourth wasn't so bad if you discounted the Daily Prophet's slander and being drugged, then dragged underwater for a ridiculous task, the fifth had been the debacle at the Ministry of Magic where she almost died and the sixth she fought the Death-Eaters who had infiltrated the school. He abruptly stopped mulling about her unbelievable bad luck when he felt his friend's eyes boring into him.

"What?" He snapped.

"Nothing." Lucius answered, all too innocently. "I was just thinking her family must be so happy to have her back."

"She has no family." He deadpanned. "She obliviated them and hid them Merlin knows where before running off with Potter. It's too late for them now, too many years since the memory charm was applied to reverse it. She only has Potter, and the Weasley oath I suppose, although I haven't seen him visiting her all that much."

"Yes, I seem to recall you've always hated Potter and his two sidekicks, which begs the question of _why_ you are doing this? Why go through so much trouble to help the little chit? You've always ranted about how much she annoyed you and I don't think that was part of your little deception. She really did grate on your nerves. So why bother at all?"

"It's not... I..." Severus' mouth opened and closed a couple more times before he realized he didn't know why he had wanted to help her so much in the first place. Sure he had accidentally made a stupid drunken oath to do so since then, but he wasn't about to confess that to Lucius, and it didn't explain why he was so willing to do as much as he had for her since he found her. Gods! He was even _patient_ with her. Maybe he was sick and had come down with a bad case of Gryffindor nobility and chivalry. Severus almost gagged on the thought but it did come as a good excuse and he served it right to the other wizard.

"It's the right thing to do. And I can't trust Potter to do it correctly." He spat, and that much, at least, was true.

"I see..." The blond man drawled. _That you're lying to me _hung in the air, unsaid but understood by both men. "Here." He added, tossing a heavy black key in the air.

Severus caught it easily, looking thoughtfully at the twisted piece of metal. Twisted, just like it's former mistress.

"You'll help me then?" He asked.

"Obviously. I'll clear it with the goblins so they allow you free passage, although they probably won't care since all the gold and artefacts in her vault have been seized by the Ministry for reparation. But on the bright side, it will make your search easier."

"Thank you." Severus said, preparing to leave.

"It's the least I can do. And Severus? Don't be a stranger." Lucius answered with an overly flashy smile that would have put Gilderoy Lockheart to shame. "I'll be contacting you if I find anything on my side in any case."

* * *

The Lestrange vault was one of the ancient ones found far underground with so many security measures to bypass, Severus wondered how Potter had managed it. Of course, it may be that the goblins had had to improve their security tenfold after Potter pulled that little stunt during the war, because he couldn't help noticing the lack of dragons. Once the Goblin had opened the vault and departed on his damnable cart, Severus observed Bella's vault was indeed very empty, so much so that his footsteps echoed loudly as he walked to the far side where books, parchments and musty tapestries were stacked. It was soon obvious the items had been thrown haphazardly out of the way because they had no monetary value to the ministry employees who had come to seize the vault's riches, although Severus begged to differ where the books were concerned. At first glance, he estimated a dozen of them at least to be invaluable rare tomes.

"Idiots." He muttered, reluctantly returning his attention to the stack of papers.

Most of them were only property deeds, business deals, marriage plans for the eventual Lestrange heir, that, fortunately, never came to be... But he soon recognized Bellatrix' handwriting covering parchment after parchment with her surprisingly elegant handwriting. She must have used a charm to keep the ink from fading over time, as the green ink glittered as if it had been applied that very day. A terrifying though in itself. Unfortunately, the contents were little better than the ramblings of a mad woman, which she had been even before Azkaban. Still, Severus persisted in reading every tiny scrap of parchment, going so far as to conjure a chair to make the process less annoying. He did eventually find scraps of information, but nothing he didn't already know. Maybe Bellatrix wasn't as close to her dear Dark Lord as she liked to boast.

Severus flung the last parchment he had been perusing with a sneer. It had contained petty information to blackmail various people at key positions in the Ministry and he felt sullied just having read all the muck the Death-Eaters had managed to rack up.

Defeated, he slumped back in his chair and sighed loudly. _Another dead end, then._ Casting the tempus charm to check the time, he noted he still had half an hour before the goblin was due back for the ride back up to the surface so he peered at the books. Thinking he might as well keep himself occupied, he reached out for the closest one and let it flip open on his lap to where a bookmark had last been placed. _How long ago? _he wondered idly.

The book was, unsurprisingly, one on dark magic. Dark curses that had ran out of fashion sometime around the middle-ages because they had no other use than to hurt, maim and kill in a messy fashion. However, Bellatrix had clearly been studying it, as the same fresh glittering green ink could attest. She had scrawled annotations in the margins, apparently meaning to use them on specific people or teaching them to other followers of the Dark Lord. He flipped through the pages, most of them were effectively heavily annotated. His hands froze when he thought he glimpsed his name and he quickly turned back to the last few pages, scanning them carefully.

Yes, there, right next to a hex to make the brain melt through someone's nose, was his name with the mention _"perfect for the traitor and his large beak of a nose"._ Severus barked a laugh. Really, she was such an unimaginative witch. He closed the book and threw it back on the pile of parchments. He'd rather destroy it as it didn't even contain counter-curses, but he was only a guest here and Lucius might not approve.

A shame none of the books were on wizarding families or family trees. If Bellatrix had annotated them as she had the dark arts book, he may have found some clue as to who had hurt Hermione but her collection of books might as well have been called _1001 Fun Ways to Torture the Innocent._ One of the books stood out from the rest, however, and he would probably have dismissed it if it wasn't a cooking book. Of all the ridiculous things to find in the infamous Lestrange's very secure vault. Opening it quickly, his heart raced as he saw it for what it was: an exhaustive encyclopedia of mythical dark creatures and at the bottom of each page, a footnote mentioning in Bellatrix's or her husband's handwriting whether the creature had been found, exterminated, captured or recruited. _Recruited?_ They had actually found and recruited some of these monsters? They were even mythical by wizarding standards, mostly because they were heavily protected or very good at hiding themselves. Had they really found Carnivorous Heliopaths? Demonic Bicorns? Giant Redcaps? Merlin's beard, he didn't even know some of these things existed. It certainly could explain some things he had seen at the final battle. A polite cough sounded from behind him, the goblin was impatiently tapping his foot. Snapping the book shut, Severus tucked it into his cloak's inside pocket and followed the scowling little creature. He couldn't wait to study it in more details. He could feel in his bones that he would find some answers in it


End file.
